


Birthright

by Missmamibee



Category: Powerpuff Girls
Genre: Explicit Language, F/M, High School, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Minor Original Character(s), Organized Crime, Slow To Update, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:47:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 90,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21539998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missmamibee/pseuds/Missmamibee
Summary: After ten years of relative peace the city of Townsville has had a sudden spike in crime. With the arrival of three particular boys our heroes think they know why.
Relationships: Boomer/Bubbles Utonium, Brick/Blossom Utonium, Butch/Buttercup Utonium
Comments: 34
Kudos: 126





	1. Inheritance

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I usually like to draw but I recently got inspired to try my hand at writing, so this is my very first fanfiction! It's not exactly an original premise but I hope for many twist and turns in the future. I've already written multiple chapters so I think this will be a long one. As you can imagine there may be mistakes but constructive criticism is very welcome! Thank you!

“Ugh!”

Bubbles let out a groan as she reached for the Hotline cell blaring in her pocket.

DT. MA. 7&12.

Just great. Another monster attack.

She scowled and took flight in the direction of downtown. First the bank robbery and now this. By the looks of things, she would have to cancel her date tonight. Again. Can’t crime take a day off every now and then? Doesn’t evil understand she had a relationship to uphold?

Townsville had been relatively peaceful until a few weeks ago, but lately, it seemed like the petty crimes and monster attacks have been piling up one after another. She and her sisters were starting to get exhausted. Well maybe not Buttercup, but she and Blossom were at their wit’s end.

She frowned as the giant creature came into view, pink and green streaks flying around its head in the distance. As the creature’s frame became larger and larger her rage grew and grew. This thing was in for a beating of a lifetime.

“Bubs!”

“Bubbles! Thank god you’re here. Formation 6, now!”

Her sisters kept barking orders to her as she flew right past them, but all she heard was the thunder echoing around her body as she fired up the biggest ball of electricity she could.

The monster let out a deafening scream of pain as it hit. Knocking over every building in its wake as it convulsed from the shock. Bubbles couldn’t help but grin when it fell with an echoing BOOM onto the steel city below. Looks like date night was back on.

“Woah.”

She turned to look at her sisters, who were by her side in an instant. They both looked completely haggard.

“Bubbles!” Blossom had that tone in her voice. The stern one of disappointment she usually aimed at their rowdiest sister. “You can’t just attack on your own like that! I had a plan you know!”

“Your plans obviously weren’t working leader girl.” She winced as Buttercup gave her a playful punch on the arm. “I told ya Brute force is the way to do it. Good job Bubbles.”

Blossom crossed her arms and looked like she wanted to retort, but the loud blaring echoing from their pockets put a stop to whatever council she may have had.

Bubbles let out a frustrated yell as the three took off to face another battle.

Blossom sighed as she plopped down facefirst onto her bed. Every fiber in her muscles were screaming for rest, but Superheroes never got a day off. Child labor laws be damned.

As sleep threatened to overtake her a loud slam rang from downstairs and completely brought back her vigor. To say her sister was upset would be an understatement. Bubbles had to cancel her date with her new little boyfriend. Of course, to her, that meant the world was coming to an end.

She sighed again for good measure and kicked her shoes off of her feet. The sun had only just set. It was way too early for sleep. Besides, she still had another battle to fight.

She sat up and reached for her backpack on the floor beside her. These frequent attacks may have had her exhausted, but she still had an essay to complete. Like hell she would let a couple of monsters affect her perfect grade point average.

As she lost herself in her assignment she paused. Goosebumps trickled down her arms. She felt something. Something strange. She wasn’t sure how or why but she knew this feeling all too well. Someone was watching her.

She put her book down and scanned the room. Bubbles’ plushies scattered around her bed. Check. Buttercup’s pile of dirty clothes on the floor, her band posters scattered around her side of the room. No. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

Thunk.

She tossed her book down and jolted up. Something, or someone, was outside.

She flew to her window in a flash of pink. Her long hair pouring out into the autumn night air as she opened it. Her pink eyes searing into the darkness, wide and ready.

“Blossom, dinners read-”

She flew her head up and bonked it right into the windowsill.

“Bubbles!” Blossom hissed and rubbed the top of it. “You startled me!”

She frowned as her sister giggled at her misfortune. At least she could make her laugh somehow.

“What were you looking at?” Bubbles asked as she floated towards the window. Always the nosy one.

“Nothing.”

Blossom walked back towards her bed as casually as she could, feeling a little silly about her paranoid outburst. Of course there was nothing outside. She was stupid to think someone would be bold enough to just waltz into her front yard. Her sisters couldn’t know the exhaustion was getting to her.

She scooped up the large physics book into her arms, then headed towards the door.

She paused and turned to look at her sister who was still staring out into the darkness. Her frame was rigid. It couldn’t be. Had she seen something too?

“Come on Bubbles. Let’s eat, you need the energy.”

“Huh?” Bubbles seemed to jump this time. Her tone made Blossom uneasy but she shook the fear away. They really needed to stop watching those scary movies with Buttercup.

“You.. okay?” she asked a little reluctantly. 

Her sister only nodded at her and quickly slammed the window shut. She seemed paler than usual, but it was probably nothing.

“Yeah!” Her usual cheer was back. It seemed forced though. “Let’s eat!”

She waited for Bubbles to completely enter the hallway before turning off the bedroom light. She had thought her sister would be over her fear of the dark long ago, but right now she kind of understood why that phobia seemed to stick around.

“Oh, Girls!”

The two jumped as they descended the stairs and rounded the corner into the kitchen. The professor was already seated in his usual spot at the kitchen table, his nose buried in some very official-looking documents.

“Where’s Buttercup?” He looked up at them as they both made their way into their respective seats.

Blossom scoffed and started piling the food a little too aggressively in front of her. Buttercup had gone AWOL after their last battle today. Yet again. She was also missing the rare time at home they got to spend with their father. Yet again.

"Who knows. Probably with those delinquent friends of hers!” She spat as she slid the now full plate to him and began working on her own. “I’m shocked she even showed up to fight with us today! Honestly, your daughter is out of control.”

She shot her eyes up to meet his and noticed how weary they looked. Her chest flushed with guilt. The professor had been stressed lately, and a rebellious daughter is the last thing he needed right now.

"But I'm sure she's fine! There's no need to worry!"

"Yeah, she probably just has a boyfriend or something!"

Blossom leaned her arm over to rub her now choking father’s back. She shot a dirty look at her sister. They knew better than to say the b-word in the house.

“A-Anyway!” Bubbles sputtered out. She seemed like she was trying to change the subject to the first thing that came to mind. “What are we going to do about this sudden crime rise Blossom? I had to miss another dat- um outing with my friend! This sucks!"

They both glanced at their now settled down father. He didn’t seem to notice the almost slip-up.

“I don't know.” She sighed as she opened the Physics book beside her. “It’s strange, isn’t it? We had years of small crime and the occasional monster attack but now it's multiple calls a day. Something doesn't feel right."

“Well, be sure to bring it up with Mayor Bellum at your meeting tomorrow.” The Professor said a little reluctantly.

Blossom noticed his worried face and plastered a sweet smile on her lips.

“Don’t worry professor! We’ll get to the bottom of it!”

“Yeah!” Bubbles added, throwing her tiny fist up in triumph. “Leave it to us!”

He smiled at them and put his nose back into his paperwork. Blossom remained smiling, despite the gnawing feeling in the back of her mind. No. Something didn’t feel right at all.

"So you did make it home last night!"

Bubbles watched her sisters from her vanity mirror as she brushed her hair into low pigtails. She was hoping it wouldn’t be a fight today. They had really been butting heads lately and Buttercup was getting home later and later by the day. And she always liked to push it, to begin with.

"You're worrying the professor to death I hope you know. Now get up! We're leaving for school in ten minutes." Blossom hissed as she yanked the green covers off of her sleeping sister.

Buttercup sat up groggily, her hair sticking up on end and a scowl already on her face.

"Ok mom.” she yawned and stood up, hovering lazily towards their bathroom door. “Don't get your panties in a twist."

Bubbles couldn’t help but laugh as she watched Blossom glare at the bathroom door like it had insulted her personally. Buttercup was going to take her infamous sink shower. Blossom sure didn't like that.  
She quickly regretted giggling at her sister's antics and put a hand to her mouth as pink eyes quickly snapped in her direction.

“And you!” Blossom crossed her arms at her. “School is a place for learning! Not a beauty contest!"

Bubbles smirked at that. Blossom was pretty, but she sure was geeky sometimes.

“Just because you dress like a stuffy librarian doesn't mean we all have to~" she sang out in the sweetest voice she could. Blossom shot her head back around as laughter erupted from the bathroom.

"Honestly. You two are hopeless.” She shook her head at them in disdain and put her hands on her hips. “Listen. I need both of you girls on your best behavior today. We’re meeting with the mayor and the police chief at 5 o’clock and I want us to seem like real professional superheroes for once."

"Hey! I'm professional!" Bubbles giggled harder as Buttercup opened the bathroom door with a towel on her head, boy shorts on, and her chest out for all the world to see.

Blossom put a hand to her temple. “You, little sister, are feral."

Bubbles laughed loudly as Buttercup let out a loud howl and went to fling on dirty clothes from her hamper. Thankfully it looked like there wouldn't be a fight today.

“Hurry up she-wolf. We should get going.” Blossom said as she rolled her eyes and flung a heavy backpack over her shoulder. “I have a feeling it’s going to be a long day.”

The day was long but not for the reason Blossom was thinking. The girls had made it through an entire school day and the hotline hadn't gone off even a single time. The sudden stillness was so nerve-wracking she opted to go on one more final patrol before the meeting with the mayor.

She adjusted her skirt nervously as she landed. The street was unusually quiet for rush hour. Eerily so. Like the calm before the storm. She scanned her surroundings quickly, then prepared to take flight once again but paused to take in what she was seeing. Three lone boys stood across the street, two leaning against a store window, one with his back to her. Whatever they were talking about seemed to be important, as it was a heated discussion.

She felt her stomach turn in knots as she stared at them. There was something about these boys. Something familiar. It hit her all at once like a freight train and her heart began to race. No. It couldn’t be.

She slowly reached into her pocket and dialed an SOS with her location on the hotline. No. She had to be wrong. There’s just no way.

She took a deep breath and held her chin high as she stomped steadily across the asphalt to the teenage boys, trying her best to look confident. The two leaning against the glass perked up at her presence. Seeing them up close killed any doubt in her mind. She positioned her feet firmly underneath her. This was going to be the fight of her life.

"Rowdyruff Boys!"

Her heart fell into her knees as the redhead turned around to face her. He was smirking.

Bubbles flew as fast as her body would allow. She glanced back down at her hotline just to triple check.

BLOSSOM. SOS. RRB. 43RD.

She had read it right. Her eyes weren’t deceiving her. The Rowdyruff Boys were back in town, and her sister was facing them all alone.

A loud gasp escaped her lips as she landed. She couldn’t help herself. A small part of her was hoping Blossom was mistaken. That it was just three normal boys who happen to look like their evil counterparts. Yet here they stood, alive and in the flesh. She glanced at her sister. She seemed fine physically, but her face was rigid. Something was going on inside of her mind.

“Well, look whose here boys." the boy groaned unenthusiastically as he adjusted his hat so it was facing backward on top of his long red locks. "Baby Bubbles has made her grand entry.”

Her eyes peeled away from Blossom and to the trio’s leader standing in front of her sister. A rush of adrenaline filled her chest as she sized him up.

Brick was dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans, and baggy burgundy jacket on, unzipped. Not really an outfit you would wear for combat. She noticed he was also the shortest of the trio, about the same height as Blossom. That didn’t seem to bother him too much though, as the red eyes searing into her commanded authority. He was a quiet sort of scary. The worst kind.

“Hi Bubbles!”

She glanced at the boy waving stupidly at her from Brick’s right. Boomer. He was the tallest, but he certainly didn’t seem to be the strongest. His beach wave blond hair was parted down the middle and a dark navy blue hoodie hung off of his lean frame. Though it was an inappropriate time to think it, she couldn't help but notice he was still pretty cute.

Brick gave Boomer a strong smack to the head. She almost wanted to laugh, that is until their other brother stepped forward.

“Brick. Say the word.”

Bubbles took a step back. Butch’s unhinged teeth baring wildly at her put a chill down her spine. He was an inch or two taller than Brick, his black hair spiked up every which way added a little more height. Despite the October cold in the air, he only wore a simple black undershirt and jeans. His steel toe military boots looked like they were itching to kick her skull in. Unlike his brother, he looked more than ready for a scrap. It was obvious he was the muscle.

Brick shifted a little so he was slightly in front of him. She thought that was strange. If they were going to attack why would he block his muscle?

“Anyway. As I was just telling your sister, we don’t want any trouble. So why don’t you just run along no-”

“THE FUCK?!”

The group of teens all jumped as a powerful lime green force suddenly landed to Blossom’s left, curling up asphalt under her feet like a ripple in water. Bubbles noticed Boomer take a step back from the impact and she felt a small smirk creep to her lips. They had plenty of muscle too.

“Great.” Brick groaned as he flung an arm up in front of a quivering Butch, practically holding him back like some kind of feral dog. “The gangs all here.”

“Buttercup!” Bubbles hissed, not taking her eyes off of the boys in front of her. “You’re late!”

“WELL, I’M FUCKING HERE NOW!” she roared, throwing a bloody black glove off of her hand and onto the now destroyed asphalt beneath her. It was Blossom’s turn to throw up an arm as their sister lunged forward, ready for blood.

A long tense silence fell between them. Everyone waiting for an opening. She looked into her counterpart's eyes and steadied her footing. Her stomach flipping in knots as she stared at the boy in front of her. She always did hate this sort of thing. This tension before a big fight.

That tension was soon cut without warning as the ground below them started to rumble, increasing in ferocity by the seconds. Bubbles gasped as the sound of screams and crashing windows filled her ears from all around her. The six teens fumbled for balance momentarily when a gigantic three headed mole-like monster burst from the ground nearby, letting out a huge roar and tumbling buildings in its wake. The boys glanced up at the towering creature and Boomer let out a low whistle.

Brick pointed his thumb up at the creature and sneered in Blossom’s direction. "You gonna get that?"

"Blossom! Orders!" Buttercup barked over the sound of screams, still glaring at her counterpart, who was doing the same.

Bubbles glanced at her sister chewing her lip next to her. She didn’t envy Blossom at all in times like this. Being a leader must be a tough job.

"Buttercup with me! Plan A17! Bubbles! Watch them, don't let them out of your sight!" With that Blossom shot through the air heading straight for the monster wrecking their city. Buttercup lingered a few moments longer, then spat on the ground by their feet and took off with force, kicking up chunks of pavement in her wake.

"You guys!!" Bubbles bellowed out to them, then looked over at the three bored-looking boys in front of her. They couldn’t be serious! She couldn’t take them all by herself!

"You don't have to be scared.”

She jumped at the sound of Boomer’s voice. Why was he acting so friendly with her?

"I'm not scared!" She spat, furrowing her brow, and steadying her stance. She wasn’t some weak little girl anymore. If he wanted a fight he would get a fight.

She frowned as he snorted at her, like he wasn’t the least bit intimidated. He took a step in her direction but paused when she raised her fists. He really thought she was joking.

“You can go help your sisters if you want to.” He said as he raised his hands in a surrender position. “Brick meant what he said. We really haven't done anything rowdy in years, despite our title.”

She raised a brow at him but kept her fists held high. It's true that if they wanted to attack, they would have done so already. But the fact that they had shown up just after a large spike in crime and attacks hit the city streets was more than a little suspicious.

"If you haven't been bad in a long time why haven't you shown up till just now? If you were being good you could have come back. It was kind of fun to see you sometimes.”

She felt herself flush a little as the words escaped her mouth. Embarrassing as it was, she couldn’t help but feel it was the truth. She often thought about the memories of their childhood fights with fondness. When their encounters weren’t unbearably painful or cruel they were sort of fun. Just children playing games, capturing each other, and spreading their cooties. Normal kid stuff.

He seemed to fluster at that. She noticed Brick turn his eyes away from the action to look at her too. They both seemed like they were putting together something in their minds, though Boomer seemed a little slow on the upkeep.

"W-well" In his flustered state, she noticed his voice seemed to revert back to the slow drawl she remembered so well from her childhood. "We were in Citiesville and we couldn't come back cause you girls would beat us up cau-"

She heard a loud clap as Brick’s hand made firm contact with the back of his brother’s head. So that's it. They had been in Citiesville for a decade. That awful city full of terrible people. She furrowed her brow despite the small hope that was blooming inside of her. It could very well be true. They could have just decided to come home and live as normal boys. Maybe they could even help out around the city. She didn't know why, but the prospect excited her to no end.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Buttercup slammed into a building beside her, glass shattering all around her feet. She watched the crater in the building for a long moment, waiting for any sign that her sister was alright. She breathed a sigh of relief as Buttercup reemerged, roaring and spitting blood as she charged the monster and ripped one of its heads clean off of its body.

When she turned her attention back to the boys she blinked as she only saw her lone reflection in the store's glass window staring back at her.

Brick frowned as he flew low with his brothers down an alleyway to stay out of sight. The girls were supposed to be exhausted by now. They were supposed to be sniveling walking corpses with the number of monsters being thrown at them. He had miscalculated. It seems their powers grew along with their breasts. His frown deepened as he looked to his idiotic blond brother who was smiling away beside him. He almost told her the truth.

That truth being they really had been in Citiesville this entire time. They drifted there after leaving Townsville all those years ago. It's not like they had given up on defeating the girls intentionally, but the scum and grime and horrible crime in the city became all too appealing, and before they knew it the gang of bad little boys ruled the city's underbelly with no interference from three particular girls. They had it good for a long while until the fateful morning they received a letter with HIM's wax seal of approval. The devil had said he was retiring and wanted his three darling sons to inherit his business, but only if a few conditions were met. Brick knew he wanted it. To rule Hell, minions, monsters. He had a taste of ruling a city and he had to have more. He had to have absolute control and he had to defeat the PowerPuff girls to get it.


	2. Truancy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Reading these first few chapters back makes me cringe. (Iol) I plan on rewriting them sometime in the future.

"I still can't believe you let them get away!" Buttercup bellowed, scowling at her tearful blonde sister. 

The girls had been searching the city up and down for hours with no luck, and now they've found themselves in the ruins of Mayor Bellum's office, with the chief of police. 

"Oh leave her alone Buttercup!" 

"S-Sorry for worrying about my stupid! Sister!"

"You don't need to worry about me!" 

"Oh yes we do! And at least Bubbles showed up on time! Why were you late anyway? I could have died if I had to take on all three at once!"

"THAT’S CAUSE YOU'RE WEAK!"

"WHAT?!?"

"GIRLS!" Mayor Bellum sighed, putting her beautiful face into her hands. The room silenced instantly. She hadn't seen them so riled up over a villain in a very long time. "Girls, I know you're frustrated and exhausted but fighting each other won't solve anything."

Blossom began to pace in front of her desk, still covered in monster guts, her signature red bow slumping. "Mayor it just doesn't seem right, all this activity suddenly when the boys waltz into town after a ten-year absence? They have to be behind it."

Buttercup crossed her arms over her chest and watched her sister pace back and forth. She looked worse for wear, her clothes tattered and a nasty gash across her face. "Duh! And Blossom said someone was spying on her. It makes sense."

"Yes!" Blossom pointed at her sister, she looked as if a lightbulb had lit up on top of her head. "It has to be them! It all makes sense!"  
"I don't know Blossom..." Blossom and Buttercup glanced at their blue, in every sense of the word, sister. She was sitting shyly by herself. "They did say they haven't done any crime in years."

Sarah watched Blossom's incredulous face as she turned to look her in the eye. "Bubbles said they have been in Citiesville this whole time! Can't you get us some prison records? Job records? Anything?"

Mayor Bellum sighed. Blossom and Buttercup looked like they already had their minds made up, and she guessed it was probably for good reason. Those boys had quite a track record. 

She leaned back in her seat and shook her head. "I'm sorry girls but the Citiesville new mayor is a nasty man. There's just no way he will give up that information to me, even if he has it. And I'm sure he does."

The three seemed to visibly slump in front of her. They all looked blue now.

Miss Bellum adjusted the sash across her breast. There had to be something she could do! She runs this city for cripes sake. Anything. Think! Prison records. Job records. School records. SCHOOL RECORDS! Suddenly she stood to her feet. 

"Girls I've got it! Truancy!"

Blossom furrowed her brow at the woman. She looked like she knew where this was going and she didn't like it one bit. 

"I'm sorry mayor I don't think that's a good idea. If they're dangerous criminals they aren't going to care about breaking a truancy law."

"Exactly," Sara said as she plopped back into her seat in triumph. "If they refuse we can arrest them and Mojo Jojo. If they accept you three girls can keep an eye on them for 8 hours a day at school."

The chubby lazy looking Chief at her side seemed to perk up at this. "You little ladies just say the word and I'll send out a citywide police raid and the best truancy officer Townsville has ever seen."

Buttercup and Bubbles now stirred, realizing what the word truancy meant, and were belting out protests at the same time. Sara watched Blossom carefully. She seemed deep in thought, and for good reason. It was a good plan. As good as they could get at the moment anyway. 

"How are you going to arrest them?" Buttercup suddenly chimed in. Sara thought the tone of her voice seemed a little too curious but decided to ignore it for now. "They have superpowers. You can't just slap some cuffs on them."

The police chief smiled at the girl a bit wickedly. "We got a few tricks up our sleeve! You just leave that to us."

All eyes then turned to Blossom awaiting an answer. After a long moment, she lowered her head and sighed a ragged sigh. 

"Alright. Do it."

Buttercup dragged her feet that morning. Well, even more than usual. Blossom and Bubbles were sitting with her at breakfast, coming up with strategies. They got the call last night. The boys agreed to attend school with them and now the next three and a half years of high school would be horrible. Well, even more than usual.

"Buttercup I just want to reiterate, do NOT start anything with the Rowdyruffs. Especially Butch." Blossom was giving her that annoying motherly look while Bubbles loaded the sink with dirty dishes behind her. She had really been riding her ass about every little thing lately. 

"That's easy for you to say. All Brick does is trash talk and Boomer is too stupid to be a threat. Butch is fucking crazy." She hissed and crossed her arms as she thought back to the wild look in his eyes from two days before. 

Even as children he was always violent and unhinged, but that was something else entirely. How was she supposed to just ignore him? He could burn down the damn school or kill someone. And she was stuck with him for the next three and a half fucking years. 

"Watch your language. Anyway, you only have half of your classes with him, Brick is in almost all of mine." Blossom sighed and looked at the boy's schedule Principle Mayor Mayor faxed them last night. 

Buttercup winced. Three classes with Butch Jojo. The very idea of it seemed absurd. Why don't they just beat the shit out of them and lock them away? Surely they didn't need to be proven guilty, they didn't even know what innocence was.

"Bubbles only has like, one class with Boomer!" She pouted and turned her head to face her little sister. She seemed to be in a good mood. "Bubs! Trade with me!"

"Okay!"

Blossom sighed again and stood up. "You can't trade with Bubbles."

The green puff clicked her tongue.

"How did that cop get them to agree anyway?!" She jumped up from her seat, a little too aggressively, and headed towards the front door, green doc martens stomping all the way.

"I heard the police force started using these special restraining devices. So you better be careful Buttercup." Blossom added sarcastically as the trio grabbed their backpacks and flew off into the sky, awaiting the beginning of the end of a comfortable high school life.

"This fucking sucks." Butch hissed as he kicked his locker with so much force it indented the entire row.

"Come on its not so bad." Boomer said, smiling at random curious passersby, who hurried away frightened when they realized just exactly who he was. "At least those cops didn't throw us in jail."

"Those fucking COPS!" Butch was really heated now and reared his leg back for another kick.

"Both of you cool it. It’s obvious the Powerbitch girls are behind all this. We knew what would happen if we came back here." Brick said, looking a little bored as he leaned stoically against the wall, eyes searching. They would be here soon and he didn't want a fight big enough to destroy half of the city. Not yet anyway.

"Especially you Butch. You are not going to ruin the plan just cause you have a freak hard-on for the green one."

Butch smirked at him. "I got a regular hard-on for the other two. Man ten years changes a lot don't it?"

As his brothers laughed without a care in the world Brick could only give them a disgusted look. They both acted like this was some sort of vacation or something. Idiots. 

The sudden silence in the hallway drew his attention towards the entrance. He felt a weird sense of excitement he hadn't had in a very long time. It was time to play. They were here.

"Good morning boys." Blossom said simply as she strolled on up to him like he was nothing more than a speck of dirt in her eye. If she only knew what he was capable of.

Her sisters Buttercup and Bubbles trailed behind her like ducks in a row, looking pissed off and apprehensive respectively. 

His already thin patience was wearing thinner by the second as Brick eyed them over. He never thought in a million years he would say it, but Butch was right. Ten years had changed a lot.

Blossom was tall. At least as tall as him, and he was just under six feet. She had a lean but curvy figure that was outlined by her tailored sweater vest and knee-length pencil skirt. She looked more like a teacher than a student, save for the childish red bow on top of her head that was tying back that absurdly long ponytail. A haughty dork with a superiority complex. Just what he had imagined.

He glanced at Buttercup who was scowling at his brother with a dangerous look in her eye. From far away she could certainly be mistaken for a guy. Her clothes were almost all entirely black and if she had womanly curves they were well hidden under her baggy green flannel. Her black hair was cut in a chin-length bob and was spiked out every which way as if it had never seen a hairbrush before. She wasn't quite as tall as Blossom but based on the arrogant posture she held it didn't look like that phased her all too much. He crinkled his nose. What a slob.

Bubbles looked more like a middle schooler than a fifteen year old, as she probably only stood at a solid five foot four inches tall. Those ridiculous long blonde pigtails on her head and baby blue apron dress certainly weren't helping. She had a clunky glittering white backpack with stickers and pins scattered throughout it and a puffy white cardigan lay on her shoulders. He guessed she thought it would age up her childish look. It didn't.

"Let me know if you need someone to show you around." Blossom sneered at him while batting those long eyelashes in feigned innocence. 

He clenched the fist hidden inside of his hoodie pocket. He remembered how unbearable she was as a child, and years of nonstop praise didn't seem to do her any favors. This was going to be hard. Really hard.

He noticed Boomer wave at Bubbles and resisted the urge to give him another beating right then and there. They had talked about this. He could taunt her all he wanted but he had to keep his big fucking mouth shut, for once in his life. Blossom cleared her throat and he scowled. Always the center of attention. 

"Thanks for the welcoming party sweetheart." He spat and glared at her as hard as he could. "Loved being beaten by cops in my own home." 

"Shame they didn't shoot your brains out." Buttercup hissed, taking her eyes away from his brother and looking directly at him. She seemed different than her sisters somehow, more hardened. It still pissed him off all the same.

"I think my sweet sister is trying to say, the laws of the city are simple. If you are a minor you have to go to school. It's the law. And since you three boys are so law-abiding..." Blossom threw up her hands in a shrugging motion, her haughty attitude on full display. Buttercup smirked at him and he was dangerously close to letting Butch kill both of these whores.

"Blossom, I’m gonna get going..." Bubbles practically whispered as she looked down the hall at a boy laughing with a group of friends. Brick raised an eyebrow when she waved a small goodbye to them as well as her sisters. Either she was very afraid or very stupid. Being Boomer's counterpart, he guessed the latter.

"Me too. We'll be seeing you." Blossom said in that oh so grating smug tone of hers. Brick watched her long ponytail swish behind her as she walked on and tried his best to keep his cool. It was only a matter of time.

He turned his eyes back to the remaining puff scowling in front of them. He felt as if she was sizing them up individually, and as a unit. Butch shook ever so slightly by his side as her eyes landed on him. Her expression was dark. 

"Welcome back boys." she spat, then turned to walk away, sticking her arms behind her head as she did so. Even Brick began to quiver in rage when he noticed she was flipping them off.

Butch turned and landed one more hard kick into the metal locker doors.

"This fucking sucks."

Brick clicked his tongue when the redhead girl sat right next to him in AP chemistry. He didn't even want to be in AP classes but the vice principal put him there anyway. Everyone just assumed he was as smart as Blossom, being her counterpart, but they were wrong of course. He was smarter. She glanced at him with her arrogant all-knowing pink eyes, and he glared back. God, she knew just how to urk his last fucking nerve.

He knew she knew his plans, at least a little bit, and he assumed she knew he knew of hers too. This little game was already getting old. She must have assumed he would do something brash, like he used to. That's why she was pushing so hard. He wouldn’t Pull though, he wasn’t a little five year old boy anymore. He was a criminal. A real criminal, with respect. Respect that he had to earn all on his own. 

His mind wandered to what Bubbles had said two days prior. She claimed she enjoyed fighting with them as children. The thought was asinine. Try as they might the Powerpuff girls always lost to him and his brothers. That is if they didn’t use a clever trick or help from someone else. He smirked to himself. It would take more than a few kisses to kill him this time.

His eyes jolted towards her as she raised her hand and asked the teacher if the new kid should introduce himself to the class. She seemed to be enjoying this. Bitch.

"That's a great idea." The teacher, Miss Beaker, raised a hand to the boy. "Brick stand up and do a little introduction please."

He rose slowly as all eyes turned to him, twenty sets of bumbling, idiotic faces, and one smug one. 

"I'm guessing I don't need an introduction," he put his hand in the pocket of his jeans as he glanced around the room. Most were too scared to look him in the eye, but some brave girls were giving him flirtatious smiles. "I'm Brick, leader of the Rowdyruffs, I hope we can all get along." his tone was acidic as he locked eyes with Blossom. 

They hated each other so much it was practically radiating off of them and the teacher took notice of the dangerous tension, clearing her throat and getting on with the lesson. The class was disturbingly quiet that day.

Butch sat three rows behind Buttercup as he watched her chatting and smiling with a group of miscreant looking boys with his head down. He'd never seen her smile genuinely before and it made him want to puke. He pondered if she was putting out for all of them or if they just thought of her as a guy too, and judging by her outfit and demeanor he guessed the latter.

Every few seconds she would turn her head to glance back at him and scowl again. The bitter anger in his gut only seemed to grow with every glance. God, he hated that ugly bitch and her two hot sisters. It’s their fault he's here in school now. Well, theirs and Bricks.

When his brother told him the plan to return and destroy the PowerPuffs Butch had been over the moon. In truth, he had gotten bored being the hired muscle in Citiesville. Brick just sent him to beat up humans, weak sniveling humans, and he was so much more than that. He was a beast. A monster. But so was Buttercup, and god did he need a challenge.

Then those cops came and jabbed a few Antidote X needles into his neck and his pussy older brother relented and agreed to go to this stupid fucking school. It took a whole day for his powers to return! How did they even find their hideout? Why do monsters need to go to school anyway?

"Miss Utonium, come speak to me after class." 

Butch glanced to Buttercup as the teacher, a hardened looking man named Mr. Holmes called out to her. She groaned loudly and her pals whispered small "ooooohs".

"So are you like, bad?" 

Butch glanced to his right now, eyeing over the girl with a long brown ponytail next to him. She was hot in a plain kind of way. Easy pickings. 

"You want me to be?" 

He leaned back in his seat and grinned when he heard a small scoff, only loud enough for those with super hearing. Yep. Easy pickings.

"I don't know, they don't seem so bad." Robin mused to her superpowered friends sitting across from her at the lunch table. Normally the girls never sat together but made an exception to sit with their best friend and neighbor today. 

"Are you kidding?!" Blossom scoffed and peeked a sneaky glare across the lunchroom where three boys were sitting, the tables around them comically empty. Two of them were laughing loudly without a care, while Brick held a phone to his ear. "They're horrible."

Robin tilted her head and stared on brazenly. “Really? They just seem like regular boys to me, Just you know... rowdier." 

Bubbles cast a small glance towards the boys as she snickered at her friend’s little pun. It’s true that she was nervous about this whole situation, but as far as she could tell they had been on their best behavior for most of the day. It was too soon to say, but she couldn’t help but think that maybe her sisters were blowing it all out of proportion. 

"Butch is a fucking psychopath." She turned to Buttercup who was devouring her food like she hadn't eaten in years. "He's probably killed people."

"I bet they all have!" Blossom hissed, stealing another sideways glance, this time catching eyes with the green ruff, who put his index and middle fingers up to his mouth and stuck his tongue between them. Buttercup jolted up but Bubbles and Blossom pulled her to her seat again.

"I know they're not good guys but..." Bubbles paused and looked at the smiling Boomer, “I don't know if they’re THAT evil."

She heard Buttercup scoff beside her. "Bubbs! Of course they are! Just cause you think the blond one is hot doesn't mean he's a good guy!"

Blossom was nodding sagely across from her. "She's right Bubbles, we don't know what they are capable of."

Bubbles glowered at her two sisters. They always thought she was weak and shallow and stupid. Why couldn’t they see they were the ones acting crazy in this situation? The boys had consumed every second of their conversation since their arrival. It was tiring. 

"I just believe in second chances." She huffed and took a big bite of her tofu burger.

"And I never said he was hot!"

Boomer sat quietly next to his brothers. Brick on the phone with some important people from Citiesville, Butch making some crude comment or another. He wasn't really listening. Well, he was, but all his attention was on the table across the room. Boomer always had the best super hearing. Unfortunately for him in this instance, as he had heard how unattractive Bubbles seems to think he is. He sighed to himself a little too loudly.

Brick clacked his burner phone shut and looked over at his suddenly sullen brother. 

"Hear anything important?"

Boomer sighed again. "Buttercup thinks we kill people and Blossom agrees."

"Well, they're not exactly wrong." Brick glanced over their way. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, I'm the ugliest guy in the city of Townsville." 

The entire cafeteria filled with the howl of Butch’s laughter. 

Seventh-period art class was Bubbles' absolute favorite. Well, maybe right behind fourth period Spanish, that hadn't been decided yet. She began to eagerly set up the canvas in front of her when her face suddenly fell. Yep, Spanish was definitely her favorite now. 

"Um, that's my friend Susie's seat." She said not daring to look up from her empty canvas.

Boomer smiled at her as he plopped down into the empty stool. "Really?” he scanned the canvas in front of him, “I don’t see a name or nothin'."

Bubbles humphed at that and turned her eyes forward. Was this some kind of intimidation tactic? 

“So, You like drawin'?”

She ignored his attempt at conversation. He was way too comfortable. Like they were old friends instead of old enemies. It just felt weird. 

“I’m not very good at it. Think you could help me out? I mean if you want-”

“I’m not supposed to talk to you.”

She still didn’t look away from her easel. This was way too awkward, and honestly kind of embarrassing. Maybe that was what he wanted. To embarrass her. She glanced up at the clock. The teacher should be here any minute to save her from this cringeworthy conversation.

“How come?”

She couldn’t help it. She turned her head to face him. He couldn’t be serious.

“Stop messing with me. It’s not funny.” She huffed and watched his expression. He only seemed confused. Her chest tightened when she stared at his face and she started to feel just a little bit guilty. Maybe he really was just a dummy. A cute dummy.

The ringing bell brought them both out of their strange stare down.

Bubbles flushed and brought her eyes to the front of the classroom, ready to just get this day over and done with.

The bustle of students all seemed to settle down as the teacher, Mr. Darwin Glines, started his lecture on color theory. 

Boomer, with all his super hearing, hadn't heard a word of it though.

He knew Brick wanted to destroy the PowerPuff girls so he could take over for HIM or whatever, but he also knew he didn't particularly want to live in hell. He wasn't a genius but he was certain hell couldn't be all that fun, and he liked to have fun more than anything. He would never tell his brothers but he never quite hated the PowerPuff girls either. In fact, he thought fighting with them was kind of fun. Not in the perverted power-hungry way Butch did of course, but it was nice to fight with someone who was just as strong as he was. Almost like a game. That's why Bubbles' words from the other day really stuck with him.

He peeped over at Bubbles who caught his eye and gave her brows a little furrow before looking to the front of the classroom again. Man, she must really hate him. But that was to be expected, he's a terrible guy and she's a hero after all. Though, he wondered what sort of hero would send cops with freaky Antidote X guns to their hideout to beat him in the middle of the night. His brows scrunched at her now. He doubted that was her idea.

"Today I want you to paint something based on the color dynamics we discussed yesterday, and to write a short paragraph explaining why you chose the colors you did." Mr. Glines said as he took a seat at his desk. "You may work in groups if you wish. It's due tomorrow." 

The classroom came back to life in an instant, students huddling together and making idle chatter.

Boomer felt a little out of place. Why did they put him in an art class anyway? His most inspiring artistic endeavor was tagging crude things on public property. This big white empty canvas in front of him was more daunting than Butch after he had a few drinks in him.

“Ugh. Today sucked.”

Boomer perked his ears up as a small group set up their easels in front of the girl beside him. It was obvious they were trying hard to pretend he wasn't there, but he didn't really mind. He still wasn’t used to this whole school thing. 

Bubbles quiet giggling filled his ears. She seemed to be really popular, since she always had a group of people around her. Not that he was watching her or anything.

"So how did things go with Jason?" The curly red-headed girl named Julie piped, splattering random colors on her canvas in unceremonious strokes.

"He's getting a little upset with me," Bubbles sighed, her cute face looking a little forlorn. "I mean how many dates have I canceled already? We've only been going out for 2 weeks... I feel like he might dump me over it."

"He's crazy if he does!" The brown ponytailed girl next to her wailed. She wasn't even pretending to do the assignment. "I mean you're hot AND a superhero! The whole package!"

Bubbles smiled again, but it didn’t seem genuine. "Well, we'll see."

"I heard Susie met somebody today." The boy, Mike, said a little flatly, he was the only one actually paying attention to his work. 

Boomer flinched as Bubbles squealed an ear-piercing “Eeeeek!” beside him. Man, she really had some pipes on her.

Mr. Glines gave the group a warning glare, and she covered her mouth apologetically.

"WHO IS IT?!" She loud whispered to her now blushing friend.

"His name is Butch... we got to talking in our English class."

It was hard to pretend Boomer wasn't next to them now, since he roared with laughter and earned his own glare from the teacher. He ignored it though.

"What's funny about that?" Susie asked him, crossing her arms.

"No sorry it's just-" Boomer let out another snicker. He noticed Bubbles’ sweet laugh along with his own. "Butch is crazy! Like crazy crazy! And he's dumb as a bag of rocks! And that's coming from me!"

"Boomer might be right Susie,” Bubbles said, trying to stifle her laughter “He might be um. A little much for you."

Susie smiled and the slightly awkward atmosphere in the group seemed to relax a little.

"Well, I'm not staying single anymore! My New Years’ resolution was to get a boyfriend and it's October already! I'm on the hunt and baby I'm getting desperate!" She held her unused paintbrush high, like a sword pulled fresh from a scabbard. The four teens around her laughed so loud Mr. Glines “SHHHHd!” them. Boomer looked at the giggling blonde next to him and smiled. Yeah, school was fun. He liked fun.

As the final bell rang and the students were leaving the classroom, Boomer felt a small tug on the sleeve of his shirt. He turned to see Bubbles, looking apprehensive. 

“What’s up?”

His heart did a backflip as she leaned up on her tippy toes and cupped a hand around his ear.

"Can you meet me somewhere, alone? I have to ask you something important." 

Buttercup scanned the almost empty halls for her little sister. Blossom would be staying late after school and tonight was important. She should have left already, but she got worried when she saw the Rowdyruffs, sans Boomer, loitering around the desolate hallways. 

Bubbles was supposed to take over afternoon patrol today, but she was nowhere to be seen. Tonight was a big deal but her sister's safety was always more important.

She snuck an eye at Brick and Butch, who were grumbling about Boomer being late. They couldn't be together, could they? She decided right then and there. If that fucking weasel even looked at her sister she would rip his dick right off.

"Boomer. Why are you late." 

The blond approaching his brothers began to speak but Brick gave him a slap before he could answer.

"Buttercup did you wait for me?" 

The boys glanced over to her now. She scowled at them. Those idiots didn’t even realize she was there. 

"Yeah." Buttercup said flatly, not taking her eyes off of the trio. Boomer gave a little wave to Bubbles and she gave a small one back. After some intense internal deliberation Buttercup decided ripping off extremities could wait a little longer. She wordlessly grabbed her sister and, rather forcefully, directed her to the exit.

After parting ways with Bubbles, Buttercup took off into the open air, heading for downtown. The sun was setting already and she was grateful for daylight savings as she reached into her raggedy camo backpack. She pulled out a black ski mask and gloves, covering them over her head and hands. The pounding in her chest seemed to increase by the seconds and excitement washed over her. Tonight was the night.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Boomer, sprawled on the floor, looked up from his painting assignment to the red-eyed boy scowling down at him from his perch on the couch.

"Colorin'," he said simply and got back to work. He wasn't the best artist but he didn't care. All he was thinking about was what Bubbles had asked a few hours ago.

"Our baby brother is a fruitcake." Butch was floating over to the other side of the couch now, smoking a joint.

"Don't stink up the place, it cost me a lot of money! And don't get fucking paint on the floor! This is MY apartment, you boys should be glad I let you stay!"

The blond and brunette both rolled their eyes, knowing full well their eldest brother would never let them starve on the street.

"Yeah alright dad, don't get your Y fronts in a twist." Butch grumbled, now passing the joint to Brick who inhaled it deeply. Normally he liked to keep his head clear, but thanks to a certain pink-eyed bitch he had quite a long day.

"Who d'ya think ratted out our old place anyway?" Boomer asked, setting down his art momentarily as the joint was passed his way.

"Probably one of the whores Butch had over." Brick coughed. "Doesn't really matter. This place is way better."

This place was way better. Three bedrooms, an open kitchen, a huge living room, everything was fully furnished with a huge TV and king-sized beds, brand new appliances, the works. It was impressive. The most impressive thing of all, however, was that Brick had managed to score it after only two short days. Boomer was suddenly grateful he wasn't the oldest. If he was they would probably all be dead by now. Well... dead again.

"Speaking of whores-" Butch piped, turning up the volume on the TV and the other two boys looked.

Blossom and Bubbles were being interviewed in front of a fallen giant robot. Bubbles' pigtails were messy and a little trail of smoke puttered from Blossom's bow.

"Blossom! Why are the attacks getting more frequent?" 

"Who was inside the giant robot?" 

"Is it true the Rowdyruff Boys are back?" 

"Where is Buttercup?!"

"Bubbles! Do you have a boyfriend?"

Blossom cleared her throat loudly and the reporters silenced. "This giant robot was one of Mojo Jojo's creations." 

The boys all groaned. Sometimes their dad was so embarrassing.

"We believe this was an isolated incident, and Mojo has nothing to do with the increased crime in the city." 

Boomer watched her flinch as a barrage of camera lights flashed on her all at once. Being a hero must really suck.

"I know you're nervous, but I swear on my life we will never let anything ever happen to you or anyone else in this cit-"

Brick turned the TV off and got up without a word, stomping to his room and slamming his door so hard behind him it almost fell off the hinges.

"Someone's on the rag." Butch grumbled as he took another hit.

Boomer looked up at him. If anyone would tell the truth it would be Butch. 

"Hey I've been meanin' to ask, were you and Brick trailing the PowerPuff girls this past week?"

Boomer watched his brother’s confused face a moment. At least, until he got a hard kick to the head.

"No, we all came here together dipshit? When would we have done that?"

The blue-eyed boy rubbed his head and furrowed his brow. 

Brick was pacing his freakishly tidy room. Just the sight of Blossom Utonium has sent him in such a frenzy. She was the only thing standing between him and, well, HIM. HIM's inheritance anyway. 

All those monsters were supposed to slow them down long enough for the boys to finish the job, but the PowerPuff girls seemed mostly intact despite it all. Blossom still had enough time to do a million extracurricular stuff at school and Bubbles had the energy left to have a boyfriend. Buttercup did seem to be distancing herself from her sisters. That could be useful. He decided to pack that information away for later, as he was no longer alone. 

_"Hellooo my darling son."_

Brick frowned as smoke filled his room and a mysterious light made the red walls even redder. 

_"It's been such a long time. Why haven't you caaaaalled? Hm?"_

He clicked his tongue. HIM was sitting at the foot of the bed with his legs crossed, looking up at the boy. His face plastered with a smile Brick could only assume he thought looked kind.

"I don't have a father." 

He scowled as HIM tutted and sat up straight. 

_"Oh Brick, they did always say the oldest has the worst attitude. Say why aren't those PowerPuff girls DEAD? My monsters did the trick well enough. Why didn't you boys attack? Hmmm?”_

In one swift motion, he stood up and had his massive cold claw around the boy's neck. 

_"Now look at this mess you’re in. What’s a papa to do?"_

Brick didn't even flinch. He was used to empty threats.

"Why are all your monsters so weak? I tried to follow your plan but it’s obviously not working."

_"Hmmm"_

HIM pulled his claw back and clacked it loudly, thinking. 

_"Well I can't deny that. Good labor is so hard to find these days."_ he scoffed. _"Unions."_

"Right." Brick pinched the bridge of his nose. His patience was wearing paper-thin. How could the ruler of evil be so fucking incompetent? "Well, I'll think of something." He looked up but the devil's figure was gone, the smoke in the room already clearing.

_"You better."_

Buttercup inhaled as her childhood home came into view. She hadn't meant to be gone this long and she certainly hadn't meant to miss the hotline call earlier that day. She couldn't exactly keep it on her though. She had no choice but to turn it off.

All the lights were off and the professor's car sat in the driveway. She had to quietly sneak back in or else risk waking up Blossom and hearing a three-hour lecture. As she floated fully in through the window however the bedroom light suddenly flicked on, revealing two very pissed off puffs in their pajamas. Shit.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Blossom had that glint in her eye. This was gonna be a long one. 

"Where were you today? Is gallivanting around with those boys more important than saving the city?" Her tone was condescending as ever.

Buttercup glanced to Bubbles who was trying to match Blossom's energy, but the concern in her eyes gave her a softer edge.

"Ugh can't we do this tomorrow?" Buttercup floated to her side of the room and threw down her bag, kicking off her boots and climbing into bed without even bothering to change.

Blossom scoffed at that."Buttercup I don't know what's going on with you lately. You never used to be like this." 

She waited a beat to be asked: "like what?" But it never came. That didn't deter her though.

"You stay out all night, you barely show up to fight, you've been angry at EVERYTHING I do, AND your English teacher told me you haven't turned in a single assignment this semester!"

Buttercup couldn’t help it. She laughed. Blossom would care about grades over everything else.

"Oh, so that's funny?! You can't keep behaving this way Buttercup! You're a superhero you have to ACT LIKE IT!"

"Girls? Is everything alright?"

They all jumped at the sound of a sleepy Professor from the hallway.

"Fine professor!" The three said in unison.

Blossom waited until she heard his bedroom door close before turning the light off.

"We're going to talk about this tomorrow." 

Her tone was definite and Buttercup sighed as she closed her eyes, drifting into a deep sleep.

Blossom sat in her calculus class quietly seething. Buttercup had left early and escaped her grasp this morning. Bubbles was crying at breakfast and she wouldn't say why and now she had to look at that pompous Rowdyruff next to her. He kept clicking that pen of his over and over. Just another immature ploy to get a reaction out of her. Well, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Fat chance.

"And another reminder that applications for mathletes ends in two weeks! We still have room on the team so don't be afraid to apply!" The teacher, Miss Axiom, was looking directly at her now.

Brick let out a puff of air through his nose and smirked beside her. Ugh. She had enough on her plate already. Yearbook committee, class treasurer, band, advanced classes, volunteering at the library, wrangling her sisters, and of course saving the whole city day after day. Her drifting thoughts came to a halt as she had suddenly realized something.

"So it's pretty interesting." She leaned over to her right and whispered as the teacher still babbled on.

"You would like mathletes." Brick whispered back, still clicking that darned pen.

"No, well I was just thinking, isn't it strange? As soon as you and your brothers join our school there hasn't been a single monster attack." 

His pen stopped clicking then.

"Hm. Wow. That is so fucking interesting." He said slowly, emphasizing how uninterested he really was.

Blossom leaned back to her side of the desk. She knew her face looked arrogant, and she usually hated behaving that way, but seeing Brick Jojo so angry almost dissolved all the problems she had that morning. Almost.

As the bell rang and Blossom left the classroom an energetic girl sped up to match pace with her.

"Listen, I know he's probably super evil, but you gotta admit he's cute." She said nodding her head slightly to the red-headed boy in front of them.

"Clara! Don't even!" Clara was one of Blossom's absolute best friends, and one of the smartest people she knew.

The girl laughed at the face her pink-eyed friend was making. "I'm just saying! And he's smart too!"

That gave Blossom a pause. "What do you mean? He can't be THAT smart, I don't think he's even been to school before."

It was Clara's turn to pause. "What, really? But he has the top grade in our calculus class. Actually, miss Axiom wants me to try and recruit you both for our team."

Blossom looked at the girl like she had 3 heads. "I am NOT joining mathletes with Brick Jojo. He would never agree to it and if I had to spend a single second more with him than I already do I may just go bald!"

Clara laughed loudly as the two entered their world history class. 

"I don't know Bloss, I can be quite convincing!"

Buttercup leaned back in her seat. She had narrowly missed Blossom three times this morning, and each time she seemed more agitated. She would have to bite the bullet soon.

"Dude where were you yesterday?" Mitch suddenly asked, not looking up from the pen he was taking apart.

"Yeah, we were supposed to meet at Elmer's for fucked up movie night." Harry added, doodling lewd things into his spiral notebook.

"Sorry guys, I was doing hero shit." She said between a yawn, trying her best to sound uninterested in this topic.

"Really? I didn't see you on the news." The nerdy-looking Elmer chimed in.

Buttercup only shrugged and looked over her shoulder. Butch had been more well behaved than she thought he would be. It just made her more suspicious.  


Lloyd, sat beside her, must have seen her peeking. "Has he done anything evil yet?"

"You mean except seduce Susie?" Floyd added a little bitterly.

She frowned at that. Butch was leaning back in his seat, manspreading and looking incredibly punchable. Bubbles' friend Susie was giggling at something he said. She really needed to talk to Bubbles about it. 

"If he does anything stupid I'll cut his throat wide open." She said it loud enough for him to notice. He did, and Susie observed the green-eyed stare down the two were having.

"Well don't ditch us again bitch, we're goin' to robin's Halloween party this weekend!" Mitch roared, throwing his pen straight up into the white ceiling, watching it stick.

"Yeah. You live next door, you can't run from us this time." Elmer added helpfully.

"Her 'rents are out of town too. I'm so gonna hit that." Mitch waggled his eyebrows at the group of boys.

"Hit this?" Harry belted, punching Mitch in the crotch. The poor boy doubled over in pain causing their whole group to laugh.

"If you have time to laugh that loudly in my classroom you must be finished with your assignments." The burly Mr. Holmes was suddenly standing over them casting a shadow. 

He spotted Buttercup and held his hand out to her, as if to take her paper, but she nonchalantly slapped it. The loud noise echoing through the room as she gave him a low five. The whole class, sans Susie, erupted in laughter this time. Mr. Holmes glowered at her and turned a shade redder, but if it was from anger or embarrassment she didn't know.

"Very cute Miss Utonium. I see you're trying to impress your little boyfriend with these cute antics. Whichever one of these fine gentlemen that may be." 

It was her turn to glower and go a shade redder. 

"But if you ever expect to pass ninth grade you should stop chasing boys and start putting in even an ounce of effort."

She jolted up suddenly, her chair rattling on the floor beneath her as she did so. The room fell eerily silent. Everyone had seen a Buttercup fit at least once, and they never wanted to see it again. She glowered up at the man. He seemed utterly unimpressed. 

Just then the bell rang. She stared into his eyes for a moment longer, but decided against it. One little slip up would be all it would take to lose everything she worked so hard for. He just wasn’t worth it.

She still made sure to bump his shoulder as hard as she could as she stomped past him and out of the classroom.

Bubbles looked down at her salad, pushing the tiny Roma tomato around her plate. Ever since Jason sent her that "we need to talk" text this morning she didn't have much of an appetite. It was inevitable. She must look so miserable sitting here all by herself.

She looked up to scan the cafeteria for her sisters. They were fighting this morning and she knew Buttercup made it worse by sassing her teacher last period. Blossom won't like that at all.

"Is this your friend Susie's seat?" 

She turned her head with a jump to see Boomer pointing at the empty spot next to her. 

"Um, yeah actually, but you can sit there if you want."

He complied. She noticed he wasn't eating anything. 

"Listen, I talked to my brothers about what you asked me yesterday." He was whispering and looking around. It made her incredibly nervous for some reason. "They had no idea what I was talking about. I don't know who's following you but it ain't us." 

She furrowed her brow. Great. Another thing to worry about.

She felt a tile hurt when Boomer leaned further away from her but when she glanced up to see her friends approaching she understood why. She felt a little bad. This whole school thing must be hard for him.

“Hey Bubbles, have you talked to him yet?”

Susie was the first one to ask as she took a seat across from her. Julie and Mike taking the other empty seats. Bubbles frowned a little at her nonchalant tone. Being so blunt about it seemed a little rude.

She saw Boomer shift in his seat again, then followed his line of sight. Blossom had arrived at the table next to her with her own friends, and her face was one of pure bewilderment.

“Not yet…” she said as she peeled her gaze away from her sister and onto the table in front of her. The pain in her heart was unbearable. She really really liked Jason. The way his hair always smelled like fresh pine needles, or how he moved when he played tennis. Most of all, she was going to miss the hazel eyes that only looked at her.

“You still don’t know if he’s going to break up with you! It could be something else!”

She felt Julie’s warm hand rub her back as she tried her best to hold back the tears. Empty comforts. There’s no way it was something else.

As Susie changed the subject to complain about Buttercup’s little outburst last period, Bubbles felt Boomer’s knee bump against her own. She rose a brow at him as he signaled for her to look down.

She looked down to see him holding a small piece of paper beneath the table. It took her a second to realize he was passing it to her.

She slid her hand under the table and took it, careful not to let her friends notice. For whatever reason, it seemed like he wanted it to be a secret.

She quietly opened it and felt a little twinge of excitement when she realized what it was. A phone number.

“Boomer. What the fuck are you doing?”

The entire table jerked their heads up to see Butch looming over them.

“Eatin’ lunch!” Boomer replied with a smile on his face. She noticed he put his hands firmly back onto the table.

“You don’t have any food dumbass.”

Bubbles felt uncomfortable under Butch’s strong gaze. Luckily, he seemed to lose interest pretty quickly when he spotted Susie sitting in front of her.

He sauntered over to Susie’s side and planted himself right between her and Mike, practically sending the boy to the floor.

Bubbles couldn’t help it. Seeing her friend blush at her budding romance reminded her of the love of her life. That same love that was going to end in just a few short hours. The tears began pouring down her face.

“BUTTERCUP!”

The entire table jumped at the sound of Blossom’s booming voice. Then all eyes turned to see Buttercup walking by, gaggle of boys in tow behind her. Uh oh.

“Damn! What?!”

Buttercup put her hands up behind her head. It was always a nervous tic of hers.

“Don’t you what me! I can’t believe you disrespected your teacher like that! What, did you think I wouldn’t hear about it?! You’ve been behaving like such a child-“

Bubbles watched Buttercup’s eyes glaze over at the barrage of reprimands. That was until she spotted Boomer sitting in the seat beside her. Before she could even blink Boomer was already dragged from his seat and in her sister’s clutches by his shirt collar.

“You fuckin make her cry, cocksucker?”

Bubbles glanced over to her sister, then to the now standing Butch in front of her. No one else dared to move a muscle.

“Why were you with her yesterday?” Buttercup hissed as she gave the poor boy a hard shake, her voice rising with every word. “Huh?!”

She had to do something. It was all just a misunderstanding. He didn’t do anything.

“Buddercup! Sttopit!”

Try as she might she couldn’t stop sobbing. It seemed like the more she spoke the harder her tears fell.

“How bout you drop him and come cuddle up to me.” Butch’s low growl filled the silent cafeteria now. “He’s a delicate little bunny and you’re just too much man for him.”

Boomer suddenly landed beside her with a loud thud as Buttercup turned to face Butch. This wasn’t good. That glint was in her eye. The entire school was going to be trashed any second now.

“What the fuck are you two idiots doing?”

Every teen jolted their head up to see Brick approach the table, looking completely and utterly bored.

“Hey Brick!” Boomer waved up at his brother from his spot on the floor. “I was Eatin’ lunch!”

Brick eyed the scene. Bubbles sitting down, fat tears streaming from her eyes. Boomer smiling like a jackass sprawled on the floor at his feet. Blossom standing up with a frantic look on her face. Buttercup with her back to him practically boiling with rage. A crowd of bewildered human teenagers looking on and not daring to move a muscle. Worst of all Butch was in full attack mode.

God, he can't take his eyes off of the stupid fucking bastards for ten seconds.

"Blossom. Come put a leash on your dog. Butch, Boomer, go sit your dumb asses over there." 

He angled his head to a table across the room as Blossom suddenly burst between the two greens in a flash of pink.

"Buttercup, cool it. Now." 

Brick watched his sibling closely. Butch knew better than to disobey, but something about his counterpart made him completely unmanageable. He hadn’t seen him itch for violence like this in quite some time.

After a long pause, Butch finally peeled his eyes away from the girl, giving the air beside her a little kiss as he sauntered past her to join his brother’s side.

Brick looked over to his youngest brother, grinning stupidly beside him as the three made their trek to the other side of the room. His ears filled with the sound of a loud exaggerated sigh from behind him as he planted a smack firmly onto the blond’s head.


	3. Burning

They had only been back in Townsville for about six days, but already Brick had managed to get himself on good terms with the underground ring leaders of this deplorable city. He had found some good information. Mr. Morbucks was probably the biggest investor in women and street fighting. Brick knew he needed to weasel his way into his company and get on his good side. Being the leader of Hell and all evil was his end goal, sure, but right now he needed to put a roof over his brother’s heads and food in their bellies. Thanks to an unknown vigilante in Citiesville his funds were running a little dry, but lucky for him sex and violence were never out of stock.

Tonight was Friday, and Halloween. That rich bastard was definitely going out to either his favorite brothel or his favorite deathmatch. He wasn't sure which one but lucky for him he had two extra set of eyes. Stupid as they may be.

Brick glanced over to his blond brother and rolled his eyes. He had his legs over the arm of the couch and was texting again. He had been sitting on his phone nonstop for three days straight. It made him look like a swooning little girl. Completely ridiculous. He prayed his brother wasn't getting into something stupid, but this was Boomer we were talking about.

"You're going to a brothel tonight."

Boomer stopped typing at that, and shot up to give his brother a dubious face. He looked like the gears in his head were trying to turn, but they were a bit too rusty.

"For work." 

"Oh." was all he said in response and plopped back down, resuming his conversation with that mysterious stranger. Brick now glanced a look down the hall, into his other brother's open door.

He was flexing in front of a mirror. That could only mean he thought he was getting laid tonight. He hoped he would take the cockblock well.

Butch didn’t want to admit it but he was pretty stoked. A real high school party with a regular girl. He never imagined he could do something like this. Real monsters don’t go to Halloween parties after all. He brushed his hair back. Boomer wanted him to wear a costume but he thought that was stupid. Hopefully, his date would wear something sexy though. 

He wondered if the PowerPuff girls would be there since they lived next door. It might not be so bad to see them in sexy costumes. Well two of them anyway. His mind began to wander into dangerous territory but the sound of his brother entering the room put a stop to it.

“What are you all dressed up for?” Brick eyeballed his brother who was putting on a ridiculous amount of cologne. His shirt was so tight it might as well have been painted on.

“Tonight’s that party. I’m gonna tag that ponytail chick.” He said, not taking his eyes off of his reflection.

“Not tonight. You have work.” 

He peeled his eyes away then.

“Work?” Butch’s whole demeanor changed. He couldn’t tell if he was pissed off or excited. Maybe a little of both.

“Yep. You’re going to play nice with some colleagues of mine and watch some wimps fight.”

Butch decided he was pissed off. He absolutely hated the underground circuit. Mostly because Brick never let him fight and he had to be around rich dudes who liked to stroke their own egos the whole night. He approached his brother in protest but Brick already had a hand up to silence him.

“I need you to play nice with these guys. We need to start making connections here too. I’m trying to keep a handle on things in Citiesville from here myself but I’m honestly a little strung out.”

They looked at each other for a moment and Butch suddenly felt really guilty. Brick was the oldest but they were the same age and he was practically raising them all on his own. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders up. A fight wouldn’t be so bad.

“That Sally chick probably wouldn’t put out anyway.” 

“Susie.”

“Right.”

Brick smiled and pat him on the shoulder. “Thanks man, but put on a nice shirt will ya? You look like a slut.”

Bubbles scanned the crowded room. Teens were drinking and grinding, the music was so loud she was sure someone on the block would call the cops. Her friend Susie was next to her. She looked uncomfortable in that revealing cowgirl outfit. Bubbles herself felt uncomfortable in her bunny costume. It wasn’t the sexy kind like her friends, but it was supposed to be a couple’s costume with Jason. Had he not dumped her 3 days ago.

“I don’t see them.” Susie yelled to her. She had been waiting for Butch all night. Bubbles didn’t want to admit it but she was hoping Boomer would come too. They had been texting and calling each other ever since Tuesday and she could see them becoming good friends. If he really had changed that is. 

She locked arms with her friend and the two treaded through the crowd to a more subdued kitchen. There were a lot of people she didn’t know here, but it was like everyone knew who she was. It seemed like everyone wanted to stop and talk to her. Being bubbly was kind of her thing but even she was down after getting her heartbroken.

“Hey Bubbles! Hey Susie!” 

Robin, Mitch, Clara and Julie were all sitting down around the island counter. By the looks of it, most of them already pretty inebriated. Mitch looked around a bit and asked if she had seen Buttercup.

“I bet she’s still grounded.” Robin added and the group all chuckled.

Susie unhooked arms with Bubbles and walked to the fridge for a beer a little too aggressively. She had been acting strange every time Buttercup was mentioned. Bubbles had been meaning to ask her sister about that.

“Where’s Blossom? She promised me she would come out for once!” Clara asked, her words a little slurred.

“She said she was going to babysit Buttercup until the professor came home.” Bubbles said, resting herself against the counter's edge. Mitch erupted with laughter. She bit her lip knowing she just accidentally gave her sister's best friend a lot of jibbing ammo.

Clara stood up suddenly and swayed a bit as she left the room.

“IM GOIN TO GET HER!” she belted and disappeared into the crowd.

As Bubbles peeled her eyes away from Clara’s disappearing frame, she locked them onto a familiar pair of cobalt ones. He immediately put his hand up to wave and go to her, accidentally knocking the people surrounding him down in his wake. He was kind of like an excited golden retriever sometimes.

“Hi, Bubbles!”

She laughed at his enthusiasm, and his Mojo costume. “Hi, Boomer. Nice costume” She laughed some more as he put his hands on his hips and did a pose.

“Thanks! You look really good in yours.”

She pulled on the bunny ears flopping from her head shyly. It was nice that they could be civil like this, and even though he was dressed like a monkey he wasn’t hard on the eyes.

“Hey, um, is your brother around?” 

The two turned to Susie who was searching the crowd. She looked as if she knew the answer to that already.

“Oh no, he couldn’t come.” Boomer fidgeted as the girl visibly slumped in front of him. “B-but I wasn’t supposed to come either! Er. We both had stuff we were sposta do!” He added to try and raise her spirits a little. 

She shot a small jealous glare to the two of them and huffed before turning on her heel and stomping away, Julie not far behind her. 

“Sorry. I guess I shouldn’t have said anything.” Boomer rubbed his neck and Bubbles frowned. 

She felt bad for Susie but why was she making a big deal out of nothing? SHE was the one who just got dumped and no one was there to comfort HER. Jason was her first love and Susie had only known Butch for a few days! She sighed, shaking her head to clear it. She hated it when her brain thought mean things. 

The feeling of Boomer’s shoulder bumping into her own brought her out of her thoughts.

“Wanna dance?” 

Blossom had been having a nice quiet night in, that is until her best friend burst through her front door and drunkenly demanded she go over next door to the party. She had to shush the girl multiple times so she didn’t wake her sleeping sister on the couch.

“You know I don’t like those sorts of things Clara. Besides I have to keep an eye on Buttercup.”

“She’s literally asleep and your dad gets home in a few hours! Come out tonight!!! PLEEEEAAASSSEEE!!” 

They were whisper yelling to each other, Blossom trying not to laugh at her friend shaking her by the shoulders. She looked to the couch for a long moment.

“Fine.” Her friend started to squeal but covered her mouth before it slipped out. “But I am NOT drinking! It’s illegal!”

“That’s totally fine! I know you hate that sorta thing!” Clara said as she roughly pulled her to the door. Blossom gave the couch one more long look before closing the front door behind her. She didn’t see the pair of jade eyes pop open.

Brick had planned to fly to Citiesville and take care of the little masked vigilante problem himself, but before he could he got an angry call from a powerful man. Apparently, Mr. Morbucks had waited to meet with Boomer for some time and his precious brother decided not to show up. 

He scowled as he searched the city below him. He spent a lot of money paying off one of those girls to hype up his reputation, and for the pimp to swoop in and say he could arrange a meeting between the two. But Boomer didn't show. And now he has to beat him senseless. If he can only find out just where the fuck he is.

He had another problem too. Some goons had been tailing them ever since they stepped foot across the city's threshold. He assumed Blossom was behind it. She was behind everything annoying in his life. He didn't tell his brothers about it because he knew they would do something stupid like they always do. No, those goons weren't the reason he had been feeling on edge all night. He didn't know what but something was going to happen tonight. Something big.

The smell of sweat and blood was strong in the huge concrete room. The skeevy burly men around her whooped and hollered as they threw devastating blows. This was a scary place full of scary criminals, but she wasn’t scared. She was stronger than they could ever hope to be. She was Buttercup Utonium.

She never thought she would be here. A fifteen year old girl, who reigned supreme. The best fighter in this underground no holds barred fighting ring. Of course, none of these fuckers knew her real identity, or that she was a girl at all. Her trusty chest binder and ski mask made sure of that. Here she wasn’t Buttercup, she was Mange, a strong ferocious thirteen year old boy.

Initially, she just wanted to let off some steam. She went to a gym on the bad side of town where Tex found her. He hatched this whole scheme. She got to beat the shit out of huge, sometimes mutant, men and he pocketed 80% of the earnings. She didn’t mind the smaller wage, it was about the fight. The pure adrenaline of beating someone down before they kill you. And they would kill her if they could. She never killed anyone though, at least, not that she knew of.

This was her sanctuary. Blossom and Bubbles would never get that. She would never tell them. One because it was illegal for her to use her powers this way, but most importantly this was hers. Something she never had to share with anyone. A place where she could let out her real self. A place where she could be the toughest fighter. Her sanctuary.

So why was Butch Jojo here?

He was watching the match across the room, seemingly unimpressed as one of the gang bosses chatted him up. He spotted her looking once, but thought nothing of it. The huge men in the ring were nearing the end of their fight, the bell sounding as one of them lay gasping on the hard ground. This was bad. She was up next. She was the big-ticket fight of the night. Someone kicked the lifeless lump that had just lost the previous battle off of the makeshift concrete ring. People began exchanging cash and placing bets.

“Now...” the announcer turned to the row of mob bosses, and Butch, sitting comfortably in a booth right above the action. “The sun has set…” 

The crowd of ne'er-do-wells began to cheer. She took a breath.

“And darkness is here..” the cheers grew. “IN THIS CORNER, AT 5’7 WEIGHING ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY POUNDS OF PURE! RAW! PREPUBESCENT MUSCLE! MAAAAAANGE!” 

Buttercup slammed into the ring on cue and the ground quaked slightly. The crowd went wild as she put on her black gloves. She couldn’t go home with blood on her hands.

“AND IN THIS CORNER! HE'S MEAN! HE'S GREEN, HE'S A FOUR HUNDRED POUND FIGHTING MACHINE! BIG BIILLLLYYY!” 

Buttercup scoffed at the theatrics. Big billy had gotten stronger over the years but he was far from mean. Just incredibly stupid. She glanced up at the booth momentarily. Then the bell rang again.

“Who is that?” Butch asked, not taking his eyes off the match in front of him.

“Who Billy? He’s part of the Ganggreen Gang.” The fat man next to him answered, “He’s gonna make me rich.”

Butch shook his head wildly. He was standing and gripping the railing so hard it might shatter in his excitement. “No! That fucking kid!” He pointed.

“That would be my little pride n’ joy.” 

Butch turned to face the man on his right. Well, he was barely a man. He couldn’t be a day over 19. His head was shaved and he wore a leather jacket.

“That’s Mange. Some tough orphan boy I found downtown. He’s the one making ME rich.” The man smirked showing off a gold front tooth.

Butch turned back to the ring once more. His eyes flicking wildly watching the carnage below. He knew that form. Those punches. That bloodthirst. He knew those jade green eyes. His smile went wider than even he knew was possible and he roared a wicked laugh as the girl below pelted one last fatal blow.

His whole body was shaking. He felt like he was burning alive. He needed her and he needed her now.

He came back after all these years to fight Buttercup Utonium.

And now he will.

The whole room rumbled as he landed, letting off a loud BOOM. Cracks of concrete fell from the walls and dust rose up from where he stood. Money flew from people's hands as they swayed over from the sudden impact. He stayed crouching low. She stood stone still as she watched his head raise slowly. The show was over. He recognized her.

"My turn."

He shot off with force, knocking those who had just steadied themselves fully to the ground from the momentum. She went to raise her arms to block but he was already on her. Every ounce of air in her lungs escaped her as his fist slammed into her stomach, her body flying back from the force of it. She landed outside, across the street, into a second-story office window. She gasped for air, her whole body on fire.

Fuck. She coughed. Get up. Get up. Get up.

"Get up!" He screamed shooting straight for her at a breakneck speed. 

He was almost on her when she flipped onto her back and landed a kick straight into his face. As he flew into the air she kicked herself up and barreled upwards towards him, punching him into the chest as hard as she could. He landed on the adjacent building with such force it indented the frame, all the windows shattering on three separate floors. 

The townspeople began to scream and scatter like cockroaches but she didn't hear them. She was on him now, her arm pulled back for another blow, and he fired a set of beams. She tried to dodge but he was too quick, landing a blow to the side of her face. As she went to cover her new wound he flew to her and grabbed her by the back of the neck, dragging her across the newly shattered glass panes before throwing her down to the paved street. She dragged almost a mile from the impact, creating a long crater.

She sat up quickly, loose glass and rubble falling from her body. He was right in front of her and she went to kick again but he grabbed her leg, twisting it in such a way she heard it crack. She screamed and lunged forward. Grabbing his arm and pulling it towards her she reached for his ear and bit it as hard as she could, feeling blood pooling into her mouth as she pulled away.

"CRAZY BITCH!" He screamed now, grabbing her by her broken leg and throwing her into a billboard nearby with a loud BANG. It creaked and fell, toppling over towards the crowded street.

Buttercup flew in and caught it just before it landed onto a woman and her child below. She had to take this fight somewhere else. She threw the billboard at Butch, it landing on him with such force the parked cars around them began ringing out alarms.

"COME ON FUCKER!" she roared and took off into the night sky. He followed her, two green streaks of light blasting at each other and destroying the town below.

Blossom had been at this party for all of two hours and all this loud music was starting to give her a headache. She never did like this type of thing and Clara had ditched her about 20 minutes ago. Blossom decided she was going to give her a firm talking to later.

It's not like she was stuffy or anything, but socializing with teens her age like this was more of a Bubbles thing. Speaking of, she hadn't seen her sister in over an hour and the last time she did Boomer had his arms all over her. Blossom didn't like that one bit.

She nodded her head politely at the boy trying to flirt with her but her eyes were scanning the crowd. The party had just gotten more wild as the hours passed and she was starting to worry about her baby sister. 

"Um-" she cut off the hulking jock leaning over her. "I've got to go look for someone. If you'll excuse me."

"Who?" The bulky guy didn't look like he had any intention of letting her free. He must have been older than her because she didn't recognize him.

"Um, my sister." She said as she tilted her body to the side a little, as if to move past him.

"Oh Bubbles? I saw her go upstairs with that blond dude. Guess they wanted some alone time." He wagged his brows at her.

"What?!" She flew past him now, knocking him to the ground with ease, a not so gentle reminder that she was stronger than he could ever hope to be, and made a beeline towards the stairs.

There was no way Bubbles would go up there alone with a Rowdyruff on her own free will. Blossom felt her heart beating fast as she walked briskly up the steps. If he thinks he can mess with her baby sister he has another thing coming. She turned down the hall and passed by the scattered couples making out against the walls. She tutted to herself but kept moving. Robin's room was at the end of the hallway. They had to be there. She stopped in front of the closed door and listened with her super hearing. There was moaning inside. Oh hell no!

She flung the door open full force, nearly knocking the thing to the floor. "BUBBL-" she froze and blushed hotly. Clara and Julie were in the midst of an intense make-out session at the foot of Robin's bed. Their arms still wrapped around each other, Julie in Clara's lap, and looking utterly bewildered.

"BLOSSOM!" Clara yelled out and blossom blushed harder.

"SORRY!" She turned around and slammed the door behind her. She was gonna get an earful for that one.

"Blossom? What are you doing?"

Blossom turned to see Bubbles at the other end of the hallway, arms locked with Boomer. Her eyes were a little red and puffy like she had been crying, but she seemed to be in a good mood.

"Bubbles!" Blossom darted towards her "I couldn't find you. I got a little worried."

Bubbles giggled at the face her sister was making. She would have to ask what she was blushing so hard about later. "I'm fine, me and Boomer just went onto the patio to get some fresh air."

Blossom looked at Boomer now, searching his expression. He had a smile on his face too. 

"Well." She turned to Bubbles and raised an eyebrow "It's getting really late. We should be heading home soon."

Before her sister could respond she gently took Bubbles’ free arm into hers and led the way down the stairs. Boomer still following. Halfway down though, the three jumped when the front door to Robin's home flew off of the hinges and onto the other side of the room.

"Shit!" was all Boomer could say as Brick's looming form spotted him. The red ruff crouched down, readying his attack.

"BOOMER!"

The two teens huffed raggedly. Butch was on top of her, trying desperately to choke her but he didn’t even have the strength to close his grasp. She had her eyes closed and tried to reach for his own neck but her arm shook and shivered. She couldn’t even get it off of the ground beside her.

Somehow they had ended up on a hillside on the empty outskirts of Farmsville. Dust and rubble all around them in the massive crater they had made on impact. The moon was full and the night air was still. Only bristling wind from the trees and their haggard breathing could be heard.

Buttercup opened her eyes and looked up at her attacker. The grimace on her face disappeared and her lips curled up at the sight of him.

“What’s so funny?” He heaved out. 

His shirt was ripped open and blood was dripping from the ear Buttercup had nearly bitten completely off. Her eyes were on the center of his face though.

“Your nose…”

“My nose?” He released her throat and brought a hand up to his face.

She burst out laughing now. Her ribs hurt with every exhale but she couldn’t help it. His nose was broken so badly it was completely turned sideways.

“Fuck! You broke it bitch!” His voice squeaked a little and she wheezed even harder.

When he used his thumb to forcefully pop his nose back into place his blood splattered all over her but she just kept laughing.

“You’re fuckin bonkers!” Butch had meant to sound mean, but the sight of the girl underneath him laughing in the moonlight put a stop to any malice he should be having. Her raspy laugh was contagious and he found himself chuckling as well. He went to get up but his limbs were beginning to feel like lead. The adrenaline was wearing off. This fight was over.

Buttercup was quieting down now. She couldn't help but feel a little awkward as the boy on top of her simply sat there and watched her laugh like a crazy person.

“So you gonna fuckin get off of me?” She said as she lifted the top of her shirt to wipe the tears from her eyes. Well, she tried to but her arm still wasn’t going anywhere. She realized the Chemical X in her body must be ridiculously low. Just how long did they fight anyway?

Without warning, he suddenly fell forward with force, face down. She let out an "OOF" as his full body weight landed on top of her. His head nuzzled in the curve of her neck. 

“Hey! Get offa me!” She barked, trying to raise up but she had no strength left.

“I literally can’t." 

She felt goosebumps all over her body when he mumbled into her. His breath was hot and she was always ticklish there. 

“Just fuckin wait a minute. I used up all my X.”

A long silence ensued, the two teens splayed out awkwardly in the mud. To say Buttercup felt uncomfortable was an understatement. Her body ached all over but that wasn't the main cause of her discomfort. She had never been this close to a guy before. Well, unless she was beating the crap out of them, but certainly not in this type of position. And even though Butch was the last person she wanted on top of her she couldn't stop the feeling bubbling in her stomach. Every breath he puffed onto her skin felt like an eternity. She had a lot of guy friends but none of them had ever thought about getting close to her like this and she was thankful for that. She just didn’t know how to handle this type of intimate contact. Maybe that was why she had never had a boyfriend before. She inwardly cringed at herself. Now was not the time to be thinking of boyfriends.

“You really don’t have any tits do you? I’m not very comfortable.” He suddenly mumbled, wiggling his face around and mushing into her neck more. She growled at the goosebumps forming from it all.

“Good! And I’m wearing a binder pencildick. I was pretending to be a boy remember?”

Wait. Why was she defending her chest size to a pervert?

“Huh? The fuck is a binder?!” He whined. 

She frowned but didn’t reply. Fucking idiot.

He had found out about everything. Her sanctuary would be gone now. Butch would spill the beans, and even if he didn’t everyone saw her signature lime-green streak while she flew around fucking up the whole city. Blossom was going to despise her. Maybe even Bubbles too. It was over.

Her bangs flew up as she let out a long dramatic sigh. Butch looked up at her face then. When did she lose her mask anyway?

“Are you going to tell anyone?” she asked, looking down and locking her jade eyes to his forest green ones.

He pursed his lips a little and leaned his body weight to one side. He pushed up on his arms shakily so he was raised up straddling her once more. Well, he rose as much as his body would allow anyway. Unfortunately, their faces only inches from each other. She felt her face burn from the close contact and hoped he wouldn’t notice. He did.

“What are you gonna do to shut me up?” He purred.

Buttercup flung herself up full force, smashing her forehead against his.

“Fuck! Ow!" He whimpered out, rubbing his head tenderly. Her head was like a lead pipe.

They both jolted up when they felt a rumble beneath them. 

“The fuck?”

They sat up, Butch still straddling her, and looked back in the direction of Townsville to see a monster so huge it looked like it could crush the whole city in one blow. A bright pink and a baby blue light swirled around its Godzilla like head. They jolted once more when a dark blue streak crash landed beside them, making a new crater against their own.

“Boomer?”

The blond sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh hey Butch. You might wanna get outta here, Brick is beyond pissed at me and he's coming this wa-" He looked over, flashing his eyes from his brother to the girl he was mounting underneath him.

“Um... Am I interrupting something?”


	4. Arrangements

Brick took a deep breath and adjusted his cuffs as he stood in front of the looming wooden doors. After the embarrassing debacle on Friday, he had to do some damage control. If he wanted it done right, of course, he had to do it himself. 

"Mr. Morbucks will see you now." A tan blonde woman said, directing him down a long corridor. Her voice was grating, especially to those with super hearing. He frowned and eyed the mansion's interior. God was it tacky.

He was greeted by a thin balding man as he entered the room. A massive figure in a suit sat at his absurdly large desk. The three waited in silence until the woman left the room and closed the door, her heels clicking as she disappeared down the hall.

"Brick Jojo." The bald man approached him and put out his hand to shake. Brick took it. "We've heard many things about you." 

Brick smiled politely at the pathetic looking man. "Good things?" 

The man laughed. It was a little strained. 

"Well good and bad. A fifteen year old super powered boy leading a city crime syndicate is hard to go unnoticed." He let go of his hand and gestured to the hulking man. "This is Mr. Morbucks but I'm sure you knew that already."

Brick took a step forward so he could look the enormous mass in the eyes. "Mr. Morbucks, I just wanted to apologize for the way my brother behaved the other day. He had some more pressing matters to attend to." 

Mr. Morbucks scowled at that.

"What could be more important than a meeting with me?" 

His voice was so deep it made brick's ears vibrate. 

"Well," Brick said shrugging his shoulders up. "Some pussy." 

There was a long pause and brick was starting to wonder if he'd went about this at the wrong angle, but suddenly the two men let out a thunder of deep belly laughs. Hook. 

"Come boy have a seat." The bald man ushered him into a seat across from Mr. Morbucks, then went and set out glasses for some brandy. 

"So boy," Mr. Morbucks took his glass. "What is it you wanted to speak with me about?"

Mr. Morbucks didn't inherit all his bucks. He was quite a crafty man. He made a killing selling things like security systems. His products went from household alarm systems all the way up to the military. Of course, he was the one sending out the criminals the idiots bought the systems for in the first place but they were all too stupid to realize that. He also had a large hand in the drug market. And Brick had a new product to push.

"X-ol." Brick said simply, pulling out a small vial from his pocket. It had a tiny needle on the end of it, with the cap securely in place. The two looked at it curiously. "A product of my own creation. See Mr. Morbucks I know you like a good fight. What if I told you you could make those men of yours more powerful than you could ever imagine." 

The man took the vial from the boy's hands and examined it closely. His eyes went wide at the realization. "Chemical X?" 

Brick smirked at the small excitement in his voice. "Exactly. Well, Not exactly. It contains only the tiniest amount, and a few other ingredients. Think of it as a super steroid. Your boys inject this before a fight and they'll feel on top of the world. Their strength with increase 100 fold, all of their senses too. And sometimes, they may even get superpowers." 

Mr. Morbucks was sweating now. Line.

"Why would you willingly give out Chemical X?" the bald man piped up now. "Wouldn't that be a threat to you and your siblings?" 

Brick only shrugged. "X-ol only lasts about thirty minutes. And if you use too much your body won't be able to take it and your heart will stop. Some might think that's a downside but the fellas we tried it on couldn't get enough of it. We always had return customers." 

He looked straight into Mr. Morbuck's eyes then, his stare cold. "Everyone wants to be a monster for a little while." 

The man looked at him for a moment. Then lowered his eyes back to the vial. Sinker.

"Ok boy." He held out his other massive hand. "You got a deal. My people will contact you and talk price," 

Brick shook on that and stood up.

"Oh, and my daughter would love to see you after she gets back from her trip. She has been going on and on about you." 

Brick paused. He had totally forgotten about Princess. Guess he would have to play gentleman with her.

"Of course." He smiled, a little forcefully, and with that, he made his way to the large office doors and was off to his next appointment.

Time to spend some quality time with dad.

Blossom was trying to focus on the math test in front of her but her mind was riddled with thoughts of a certain red-eyed boy. As soon as she noticed his absence again she waltzed into Vice Principal Keane's office to demand his whereabouts. Then was promptly told he simply called in sick. Yeah right. They never got sick.

She sighed and went to the front to place her test on her teacher’s desk. When she got up there Miss Axiom quietly whispered to her, asking if she would stay after class. Great. She was going to push mathletes again. She started thinking about the conversation with Clara last week. Actually, since Clara told her about Brick's apparent genius she hadn't stopped thinking about it. Or Him. Where did he learn those types of things? She was the smartest out of her sisters but it's not like she was born that way. She just worked hard. Harder than anyone she knew. So why did Brick just waltz in and gain the top spot?

She hadn't seen him since he went after Boomer last Friday. That was five days ago now. His brothers were absent Monday and yesterday but they came to school today. He, however, was nowhere to be seen. She didn't like this. It was just too suspicious. But if he missed much longer they could hit him with truancy again. That was at least one silver lining. She sat huffing to herself until she heard the bell ring.

"If this is about mathletes, I'm sorry Miss Axiom but it would just be too much for me right now." 

The teacher shook her head then reached into the top drawer of her desk, pulling out a large stack of papers. A small post-it was stuck to the corner of it, with an address written in red ink. 

"No dear. I need you to give these to Brick for me please." Blossom's eyes shot open, she went to speak but the teacher silenced her with a raise of her hand. "He's been really sick. If he misses these assignments it could hurt his grades. You two seem to be getting along so I thought I would ask you to help him." 

Blossom scoffed. Like she gave a crap about his grades! She wanted him in prison! Getting along? Was she stupid? "Miss Axiom!" she started, but the old lady interrupted her. 

"Please Blossom. I normally wouldn't trust anyone with his address, but you are a hero and a kind girl. I know you wouldn't let anyone fail. If you don't want to go to his home you can just pass them along to one of his siblings." 

Blossom let out a little whine but nodded her head. Passing it along to Butch or Boomer wasn't that big of a deal. And she did like to stay on the faculty's good side.

She scooped up the papers and headed out the door to her locker. Next period was world history then she had lunch. She knew Boomer would be the best choice to trust with the task, given the other option. Before she closed her locker she looked down at the post-it note, her teacher's words echoing in her head. She was kind but Brick didn't deserve her kindness. She gave a quick look around before pulling it off of the stack and shoving it into her coat pocket.

Butch reveled in the silence surrounding him. 

"Hmmm? You say somethin?" 

The group of boys sitting around him at the lunch table looked like they might piss their pants at any moment. 

"I said. That's my fucking seat." 

The boys looked down, not daring to raise their heads at the raven-haired girl standing beside them. 

"Really? Well then." He patted his lap. "Be my guest." 

Everyone at the table flinched, waiting for the explosion, but it never came. Butch had been hounding and tormenting Buttercup all day but she never erupted at him even a single time. Something was going on with them.

Butch knew that the monster attack on the city last Friday completely erased all the evidence of their little scrap. And he knew Buttercup had a big secret she didn't want her pretty sisters finding out about. He had all the ammunition in the world. Watching her squirm brought a joy to his heart he didn't know was possible. God how he loved it.

"Er." Elmer scooted over and patted the spot next to him. "You can sit here if you want." 

Butch’s smile faltered a little as the girl stomped over and sat next to the nerdy boy. They were so close she was practically in his lap. The table all sat eating in silence for a short while, sharing concerned glances. 

"Oh Mitch," Harry bravely decided to start a conversation. He always hated awkward silence. "I forgot to ask. How did it go with Robin at that party?" 

Mitch seemed to come back to life then. "Man it was sick. We're talkin' second base here fellas." 

Buttercup scoffed at him.

"Oh yeah? What did they feel like then? Since you've definitely touched a boob now?" 

There was a beat of silent anticipation. 

"Uh. A water balloon." 

Buttercup and Butch both erupted into laughter and the others joined in, throwing out their own jibs his way. 

"Yeah whatever! At least my babysitter let me outside to play!" Mitch was embarrassed but he was laughing too. Buttercup reached behind Elmer to give Mitch a firm smack to the head, placing her chest right in the poor boy's face. Butch smirked at the blush on his cheeks. Virgin. 

"Oh yeah, Butch?" Mitch's tone went a little serious as he turned to him. "Speaking of the party, Susie was pretty pissed you didn't show dude. She wouldn't shut up about it all night. I was supposta ask why you didn't come." 

Buttercup turned to him now too. He better not spill the beans.

"Well," Butch shrugged. "I was gonna go but I met a different chick on the way."

"Really?" Lloyd asked. 

"Yeah man. Didn't work out though. I took her out on the town, gave her a few pecks but wouldn't you know it as I went to lay my face in her tits there was nothin there! She was flat as a board."

"So whad'ya do then?" Mitch asked curiously. Butch smirked at him. 

"Why, I flipped her over then I fucked her of course." 

Everyone but Buttercup let out a laugh. He glanced over at her enraged face. God how he loved it.

Bubbles glanced over from the loud table of boys, and her sister, to her friend in front of her. Susie looked like she was seething but she just kept playing with her food. She looked over at Julie and Clara beside her. Bubbles smiled at the sight of them, it was obvious they were sweet on each other and her friend looked really happy. She looked to her right now and smiled at the blond next to her. Boomer had decided to join her for lunch again. She wanted desperately to ask where he had been the last two days but thought it wasn't really her place, so she stayed silent on the matter. He had been so kind to her at the party after all. She flushed with embarrassment remembering it. 

Jason had shown up and Bubbles spotted him with another girl on his arm. She sobbed so hard and loudly Boomer took her to the patio where she wailed and cried even harder. He didn't know what to do so he just pat her back as she vented but then he had asked her one question and she felt so incredibly stupid. 

He asked what Jason's full name was and she couldn't even answer him. 

She had laughed like a madwoman at her own theatrics and he laughed too. He really helped her get over it in one fell swoop and she was so grateful.

"So how did you guys do on your still life assignment?" The heads at the table turned to Julie. 

"Huh? We had an assignment?" Boomer piped, he sounded genuinely worried about it. 

"Er yeah. It's worth like half our grade or something." Bubbles snickered a little at the face he was making. "You were absent so you can probably just turn it in today Boomer." 

He turned to her. "Well, I don't have anything to turn in! I totally forgot about it!"

She pursed her lips, putting her finger to her cheek in thought. "You can just borrow one of my extra sketches. You won't get an A+ on it but it's better than failing." 

Boomer smiled at her in such a way she felt her heart flump a little. Ugh, stop looking like that! 

"Thanks but you're actually good at drawin'. There's no way the teacher would believe I did something so pretty."

"Ahem." 

The table turned their heads to see Blossom. She had a stack of papers in her hand and a blush across her cheeks as she tried not to look her best friend's girlfriend in the eye.

"Hey Blossom!" Bubbles scooted closer to Boomer to make room for her sister to sit. She noticed he inhaled a little quickly. "Come sit down." 

Blossom shook her head. "No um, well I have Library duty today. Here." She presented the large stack of papers to Boomer. He raised his eyebrow at her but took it. "For Brick. He'll fail if he doesn't complete them." 

With that, she turned on her heel and clacked out of the lunchroom not waiting for a response.

"Well that was nice of her." Boomer said scrunching up his face at the advanced math formulas on the paper in front of him. What is this? Mandarin? 

"Yeah it was." Bubbles smiled, deciding not to scoot back over. It was pretty comfortable here.

Buttercup glowered as she looked at the seat in front of her. Mitch, her so-called best friend, and her worst enemy really seemed to be hitting it off and it made her so mad she could spit. He tried to get under her skin all day and it took every ounce of patience she had not to break his neck. They didn't need a repeat of last Friday. She got off lucky. She took off before Brick had arrived without a word and went to help her sisters save the city. They were so relieved she came to help they didn't even think to ask why she had a broken leg and a busted lip. She got off really, really, lucky.

Except now Butch had blackmail on her. She was so afraid he would let it slip she hadn't even talked to Tex since that day. She really wanted to see him though. She had gotten really close to him and she didn't realize how much she'd missed him until they couldn't talk anymore. His scratchy southern drawl was pretty alluring after all. She smiled to herself, thinking of that sideways smirk he had when he looked at her. Yeah she needed to talk to him soon.

"Present for ya." 

Brick looked up from his book to see Boomer holding out a huge stack of papers towards him.

"The hell is that?" 

Boomer plopped them down unceremoniously on top of the kitchen island in front of him. 

"Dunno. Blossom told me to give 'em to ya."

“Blossom?” Brick raised his brow and scanned through the papers. It was just some stupid shit from calculus. "Thanks. We have more important shit to talk about though." 

He got up and looked to the front door. 

"Wheres Butch? I need to talk to both of you." 

Boomer only shrugged and Brick clicked his tongue. He remembered the tattered state he found him in last Friday and Boomer had said he was on top of the green PowerPuff. That night Brick gave both of them a firm beating. 

"Well find him. And pack a suitcase. We're going back to Citiesville tomorrow."


	5. Flurry

Bubbles looked up from her phone and sighed. Still no response.

It had been weeks since anyone had seen any of the Rowdyruff Boys. Boomer had been talking to her on the phone every night right before they vanished but now there was only radio silence. Blossom and Buttercup were really worried about what they might be planning but they seemed to relax a little since Thanksgiving break started.

She went to the kitchen to grab a drink and waved a friendly hello to Clara sitting to Blossom's side at the table. They had large books and papers scattered throughout. Looks like Blossom was pressured to join mathletes after all.

Buttercup was busy humming and doing the dishes. She had been exceptionally well behaved the past few weeks, and extra sweet to her and her sister. It was a little suspicious but she liked it when Buttercup was nice so she let it slide.

"Hello girls." the professor entered the room looking completely exhausted. "I'm going back to Xcorp to meet with the mayor. I won't be home for dinner tonight." 

"Again?" The three said in unison. 

The professor nodded, his face a little solemn. He had been working day and night on a top-secret experiment lately and it was wearing him paper-thin. "Afraid so. Call me if you need anything." And with that he put on his thick coat and jogged right out of the front door.

Bubbles watched her father from the kitchen window as light snow began to swirl outside. She sighed heavily once more before turning to sit by her sister's side, thankful for a cozy night in.

Boomer let out a little cough and looked around. Was the air in Citiesville always this disgusting? The cold sludge on the pavement slushed under his feet as he walked. He had been back here for a couple of weeks now. Brick had told him the deal with Mr. Morbucks went through and they had to start getting everything in production. He really hated this part of being a criminal. Dealing with thugs who thought they were all hot shit, and brainiacs who looked at him like he was some sort of idiot. He hated Citiesville too. It was dirty and everyone was pissed off all the time. He sighed as he turned down an alley, stopping at a dilapidated metal door and giving it three knocks. He just wanted to go back home. He wanted to go back and see her.

Brick had noticed his reluctance. That paired with his rebellious decision to blow off his duties on Halloween had earned him the job of babysitting. Well, Dad sitting. The door creaked open and he waltzed on through, shoving the bald man who answered it to the side in his wake. A familiar monkey sat pouting at a desk in the far corner of the tiny room. A Green-eyed ruff texting on his phone in front of him.

"Where is Brick?!" The monkey started again and everyone rolled their eyes. Mojo had been throwing a fit ever since Brick kidnapped him and brought him to their little hideout. He said he was too busy to help with the X-ol production but Brick said he owed them about ten years of child support and took him anyway. He wasn't too happy about that. 

"Shut up monkey." Butch replied, not taking his eyes off of his phone. "Unless you wanna talk about some chemistry." 

"You do not speak to me that way. I am Mojo Jojo, your father, and evil mastermind! That is to say, my mind is full of evil. Evil in which you children are squandering!" 

Butch pounded the desk and the old monkey silenced once more.

Boomer felt kind of bad. Mojo looked old and worn out. His fur had tufts of grey all throughout it and his face was wrinkled more than ever before. He may have been an evil monkey but he was still their dad, and he probably only had a few more years left in him. 

"Mr. Mojo," The bald man, Mr. Smith, piped up.

He was apparently Mr. Morbucks' new right-hand lackey. They met in prison some years ago and he was itching for power. Boomer thought he just looked like a regular schluck though. 

"I know you want to defeat the PowerPuff girls, and believe me so do I, but we need you to try and focus. If we perfect this formula for mass distribution we can hit them with a whole army of super-powered bandits."

Mojo and Butch both scoffed at that. Butch had said earlier he thought this plan was pretty stupid. If the puffs were mostly left unscathed by giant monsters why would they be bothered about some wimpy humans? Boomer thought he had a point but Brick said they would help fight when everything was ready. Take the girls out and get rich doing it. It seemed like a good idea on paper but Butch was the only one who had actually fought a puff recently and he knew better. Brick always got his way though.

Boomer hated the plan for entirely different reasons. His whole body flooded with guilt when he thought about how Bubbles might look at him when she realized their budding friendship was all a lie. He felt so ashamed about it he couldn't even bring himself to answer her calls. Why did Brick want to rule hell so much anyway? They could just live peacefully doing the same old small-time shit they were doing before. He smiled a little thinking back to their childhood antics. Robbing candy stores and beating up losers who underestimated them because they were just snot-nosed little brats. Why did Brick suddenly decide a few years ago he needed to make a name for himself? Was just being with his siblings not enough? It was enough for Boomer. Sometimes Brick looked like he didn't even know what fun was anymore. He really missed his brother's smile sometimes.

"I will not help with such a stupid task. Why would you extract your blood and distribute it to lesser criminals? For that matter why did Brick not plan ahead with his creation? He is still just a foolish child. It is a stupid plan. I will not help with it." Mojo huffed once more.

Butch and Mr. Smith looked like they would lose patience very soon so Boomer did what he knew best. He went to his father, grabbing his bony paws in his hands, and put on the cutest pathetic face he could muster. "Dad! Please just help us! Brick said we gotta and I just wanna go home!" 

Mojo looked into his glistening blue eyes for a long moment. The tiniest of tears were forming in them. After weeks of coercion he really just wanted to go home too. These boys just won't listen to reason. Maybe growing up without a father had something to do with it. He let out a loud sigh, jerking his hands away and crossing them over his chest.

"I hate when you do that."

Despite the cold outside, everyone was sweating from the close quarters and whirring machines in the tiny underground room. Faint beeps of an EKG machine and shuffling feet echoed off the walls. A large menacing laser loomed over them.

"You sure you want to do this bro?" Butch hunched over, looking down at his older brother strapped onto the operating table. "You won't have your powers for a while and I'm not babysitting your ass." 

Brick grunted up at him. "It's a small sacrifice. I'll just lay low." 

Butch searched his brother's expression a little longer before he was shooed away by a man in a lab coat. These were Morbucks' men and he didn't appreciate how they thought they owned the place. He huffed and joined Boomer on the other side of the room. The two looked on as the men strapped long tubes and needles to their brother. How they even got needles that would penetrate his skin Butch didn't know, but he guessed Brick thought of that too. He thinks of everything after all.

He and Boomer had tried to volunteer to be guinea pigs too but Brick wouldn't hear of it. He said they needed to be alert and ready to fight because they were apparently being followed for weeks now. That was quite a surprise to both of them, and Boomer looked like he was really shaken up about it for some reason. Actually, Boomer had been acting strangely for a while now but no one really pressed him about it. He was just sensitive sometimes.

He glanced over to the Giant man next to them. His sour expression never seemed to change, but his bumbling little sidekick next to him seemed eager. A little too eager.

"Now everyone out!" Mojo suddenly entered from the door behind them, putting his little paws in a pair of latex gloves. The small group of lab coats shuffled out, noticing the monkey's horrible mood. He seemed like he was dreading what was to come.

"I mean everybody!" He was talking to his sons now, and their new business partners. 

Mr. Morbucks simply nodded to Mr. Smith and after a pause, the two made their exit. Boomer was too busy eyeing the giant laser above their heads. "You boys too!"

"Nuh-uh I'm not leaving Brick in your furry little hands alone pops." Butch made it clear he didn't like this whole plan, but he hated the idea of something happening to his brothers most of all. 

"I'll be fine. Leave so I can get this over with." Brick said, sprawled on the operating table and sounding more than a little annoyed. Boomer and Butch shared a glance but complied. 

Brick's word was always law.

As they closed the door behind them they heard it. First the sound of the giant laser. A low hum then a huge crackle of booming electricity. The monkey had said Brick needed to get his blood pumping before the extraction or he might just die, or something like that. Butch couldn't quite remember. He was too focused on the primal screams emanating from behind the closed door. He felt every hair on his body stand on end as he heard the unmistakable scream of someone's life force being strenuously drained, clinging by a mere thread. No, Butch didn't like this plan at all.

The night air was freezing and a thick fog rose from the water in front of her. Winter was here.

Buttercup rubbed her arms to try to escape the cold but felt a warm leather jacket suddenly hug her shoulders. 

"Here sugar." 

She smiled at the man beside her. 

"I'm spice remember?" she said coolly and he laughed. His raspy voice was as sweet as honey.

She had stayed away from Tex for almost a month now but decided enough was enough and snuck out to see him. Her sisters were fast asleep at home and she had been on her best behavior so she thought she deserved a night of fun. 

"Been missin' you at the ring girl." 

She looked into his amber eyes, they were reflecting light from the shop windows on the pier behind them. 

"I know. Sorry, I bailed but it's not like I could just hop back into it. Everyone saw me." 

There was a long pause of silence as the man nodded and reached into his pocket for a cigarette. Lighting it and taking a long thoughtful drag.

"Well," he exhaled, "You didn't have to ignore me, did you? Thought maybe you just using me or somethin'."

Buttercup shook her head a little too violently.

"I just didn't want you to get busted! I mean we were doing like, super illegal shit." 

Tex smiled at her enthusiasm. 

"Well beatin' up bad guys and taking their cash shouldn't be illegal anyhow." He let out another puff. "Why did you fight with Butch anyway? He's a nasty fella."

Buttercup pursed her lips a little. How the hell did he know how nasty Butch was? Didn't they only meet on Halloween? As if he was reading her mind he answered. 

"I've seen him around at the ring in Citiesville. He's a complete ass and he always whores around with those gals of his. His brother is a total hotshot though. No one fucks with any of them."

Buttercup's mind began to race wildly. Tex knew a lot about them, enough to get them convicted most likely, but she couldn't tell Blossom about it without outing her own criminal activity. He noticed that heroic glint in her eye. 

"You can't tell your sisters okay? Those guys are all chummy with the mayor in Citiesville anyway. If they get arrested they'll just be sent to jail there and live like kings." 

He tossed the remnants of his cigarette down and stomped his huge boot on it. She didn't look like she was fully convinced and he didn't need to go back to prison anytime soon.

"Hey, Forget about all that." He reached up and grabbed her hand. She jolted slightly at the contact and he grinned that devilish sideways grin of his, gold tooth on full display. "Let's go have some fun."

The apartment was still again, the lights off and no sound of movement inside. Blossom sighed, pulling her legs up to her chest to try and retain even an ounce of warmth. This was the third night in a row she had spied on the Rowdyruff apartment to no avail. They must not be in Townsville anymore. "But where else could they be?" She said aloud to no one in particular, adjusting herself on the cold concrete rooftop. They must be back in Citiesville, but does that mean they've left permanently? Why would they arrive for only a few weeks then leave again? It just didn't make any sense.

She sat there in silence, her mind buzzing and wondering. As the light snow fell upon her she thought of her sisters.

Bubbles had been hanging around with Boomer. They sat together at lunch and there was also the party. They seemed pretty close that night. She wondered if that was Brick's plan too. Playing on her sister's emotions would be a smart move since she was so sensitive. Maybe he wanted to get some kind of information from her, did she tell him anything damning? She shook her head. Bubbles was sensitive but she wasn't stupid. There's no way she would have let Boomer of all people outsmart her.

But what about Buttercup? She wasn't in her bed when Blossom decided to spy yet again. She's started sneaking out again, but Blossom couldn't exactly scold her sister for slipping away when she was doing the same thing. She looked up at the stars. The professor would have a heart attack if he knew two of his daughters were sneaking off night after night. Though, Blossom mused to herself, she was working and her sister was probably just goofing off somewhere with those boys.

She furrowed her brow a little. Buttercup thought she didn't notice her sorry state on Halloween but of course, she did. Her leg was broken so badly it took half a day to heal. Not to mention the horrible burn that took up most of her face. And Butch wasn't at that party or with Brick. She must have fought him, but why? Buttercup was hot-headed and going through a rebellious phase but she wouldn't fight him unprompted. Not when she had explicitly been given orders not to. So just what the heck was going on? They should really have a family meeting soon.

Blossom trembled and went to stand but some movement caught her eye and she crouched once more. A dark shadow was scaling the building and heading straight for the Rowdyruff's apartment on the 12th floor. She held her breath when the figure paused to look around before effortlessly cutting the glass on the window with something and slipping inside. After waiting a moment more she pulled out her hotline and got an SOS ready. Before she could dial anything however she saw three familiar boys making their way from the parking lot to the complex entrance. Brick was practically being dragged by his youngest brother. He looked like absolute hell. She decided to hold off on the SOS for now and watch for a little longer.

Brick thought he might die. Or maybe he was already dead, he wasn't sure. He thought it would only be a few days but he had been without his powers for almost a week already. He could start distribution soon but he didn't even care about that right now. All he cared about was getting to his room and blacking out. That fucking monkey drained him almost completely dry. Yeah, he could use a nap.

As they turned the key and entered the doorway however the three boys stopped in their tracks. The place was completely trashed. Someone had ransacked every inch of their apartment looking for something. And judging by the sound of rustling in his bedroom they were still here.

His mind began to race. Was it those cops again? They did skip a lot of school, Blossom had the perfect opportunity to sick her goons on him. He cocked his head to the side to hear better and signaled his brothers towards the room. No, this was just one person and they weren't very big. Definitely not the same cops who beat the shit out of them before. He gave the signal and Butch kicked the closed door down with ease. The masked figure rampaging through his bookshelf was startled by the sound. "Who the fuck are you?" Brick tried to sound as tough as he could but it was pretty difficult considering.

"WAIT!"

The figure stuck both arms up in defense, shaking and cowering down before them.

That was a girl's voice. Where had he heard it before?

Blossom unclenched her jaw and sighed. She had been listening intently but now she could relax. She knew the shrill voice of Princess Morbucks anywhere. Guess she was back from her trip to Paris. Though what she was doing breaking into the Rowdyruff apartment she wasn't so sure about. Breaking and entering was pretty on-brand for her though.

She wondered if they could be working together on whatever little scheme Brick was hatching up. Or perhaps they were enemies? Either way, this was a great opportunity. She went to listen with her super hearing once more but jumped when the hotline in her pocket began blaring loudly, echoing into the still night air. In an instant she saw Brick's frame come to the window, searching.

Crap! She crouched down and tried to fumble for it, sitting stone still as she finally managed to silence it. She didn't dare move a muscle. She could feel his icy stare even through the raised edge of the rooftop she was crouched behind. As fate would have it though a strong breeze flew by, sending her long loose hair flying into the air up above her head. CRAP! Why didn't she wear it in a bun today?

She took a deep breath. Resigning herself and standing to her full height she looked directly down at him. Her long hair looked like fire as it flew behind her, snow flurrying past her every which way. They stared into each other's eyes for what felt like hours. He looked even worse in the bedroom's light. He was deathly pale, and dark circles etched his eyes. The look on his face was colder than the ice under her feet. She could tell he wanted to kill her right then and there but something was holding him back. There was no need to stay and find out the reason. She leered into those red eyes a moment longer then turned her heel and took off into the night sky, the pink prism of light following her distorted by the falling snow.

"Brick what was it?" Butch looked up from the wailing girl in front of him to his brother. His eyes were glued to the city skyline and his animosity was so strong the entire room could feel it.

"Nothing."


	6. Chemistry

Boomer shoved his hands into his shiny new bomber jacket and let out a haggard sigh. Today was the first day back to school and he would have to talk to Bubbles sometime soon. He didn't know what the hell he was going to say to her. What could he possibly say? He had ignored her so long she had stopped even trying to contact him a few days ago. He was a bit grateful because the guilt and anticipation of their inevitable fight kept gnawing at the back of his mind.

He looked over to his brother walking beside him on the sidewalk. Brick Still looked like crap, and he was even more grouchy than usual. If that was possible.

Brick was getting his powers back, but slowly and still couldn't fly or anything. Meaning everyone had to walk to school. Well, everyone except Butch. He had kept his promise of not babysitting his brother.

Princess was on Brick’s arm and he looked like he wished he had died on that operating table. She hadn't left his side since they found her rummaging through their belongings yesterday. They tried interrogating her but she said someone stole something of hers, and that she had reason to believe it was in their apartment. He and Butch thought that was a pretty weak excuse to break in but Brick decided the large sum of money they had received from her father was worth letting it slide.

Boomer gulped as the school's entrance came into view. He looked around for her as they went inside. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits after getting a little vacation and the halls echoed with teens playing and joking around. He heard a familiar giggle and he felt his chest tighten at the sound.

She was standing there, talking to Julie and Mike in front of her locker. Boomer smiled despite the nagging in his brain. With her blonde hair in low pigtails and her all-white ensemble, she looked like an angel. He saw Julie give a nod in his direction and Bubbles turned to look at him then, but only for a moment. She made a little face before she turned back around again. Man, this wasn't much fun at all.

Brick looked like he was searching for someone, not even pretending to listen to the oblivious girl next to him who just kept yammering on about her Paris trip. He was more than agitated. In fact, he hadn’t felt this pissed off since he blew up that bank four years ago. His cool calculated facade was clinging onto him by mere threads. Unlike the idiot clinging to his arm.

The students started skittering to class as the first bell rang. Princess had decided she wanted to spend every second glued to him and volunteered to walk him to class. God she was more of a prick to his side than one of Mojo's giant needles.

"So I told them I own Pierre Gagnaire and they had to clear the restaurant for me or-"

Princess latched onto him even tighter when she spotted Blossom jogging around the hallway corner with a stack of books in her hands. She seemed uncharacteristically disheveled, her clothes wrinkled and her ponytail a little messy. Brick tensed at the sight of her as well. Last night he found out Blossom had been spying on him but he had no idea how long it had been going on. Did she know about the deal with Morbucks? The X-ol? It had kept him so on edge he barely got any sleep last night. Sleep he desperately needed.

Blossom paused at the sight of them arm-in-arm for just a second then rolled her eyes before turning to enter first-period Chemistry with a scoff. Brick clenched his teeth and freed himself from Princess's hard grasp. So that's how she was playing it then.

Brick thought he heard Princess say something as she sauntered off but none of that mattered right now. He was seeing red. How dare she. How dare she roll her eyes at him like he was just another weak disgusting human. Did she forget he could kill her if he really wanted to? Did she not realize he really wanted to right now? All the misery from the past two months seemed to hit him all at once. From being drained of his X, his brother's rebellious antics, dealing with his incompetent fathers. The fate of an entire drug market resting on his shoulders, not to mention he was more than a little grumpy from not sleeping and that was her fault. It was all her fault. That was all it took. That little eye roll sent him into a rage.

He stomped inside the classroom and to the desk directly beside her. Tossing the nerdy boy who previously occupied the space to the floor in the process.

"Hey!" She stood up with such force the pile of books on her desk tumbled to the ground. "Brick! Don't you dare touch Elmer!"

The teens around them gawked at the stare down the two were having. Two pissed off supers can’t be good news. No one moved a muscle. The teacher wasn't here yet and it was way too early in the morning to die.

"He was in my seat." Brick looked down at the shivering boy, his face was rigid with pure malice. "Weren't you Elmer?"

Elmer shook his head violently. "Y-You can have it man! It's fine!"

Brick turned his eyes back to the girl and cocked his head, sneering at her. "See honey? It's fine."

It was Blossom's turn to boil. He could taunt her and call her names all he wanted, but picking on the weak was inexcusable. "It's not fine Brick!" Her voice was low and acidic. "Apologize to him or else!"

Brick cackled loudly at that, his animosity reverberating off of the walls in the silent classroom. Her hackles raised at the sound. 

"Yeah?" He grabbed the desk between them and threw it, kids letting out gasps as it slammed against the adjacent wall and shattered on impact. His shoulders were bowed now. "OR ELSE WHAT?!" 

Normally Blossom was the diplomatic type. The type to talk down a situation instead of escalating it. Normally she was kind and considerate of the reasoning behind someone's actions. Normally she thought before she punched but these were not normal circumstances and Brick Jojo was not a normal boy. 

Before she knew it she had hit him with such force he flew back through the wall behind him and into the hallway. Kids all screamed and coughed as the now giant hole in the concrete wall spit out dust. Broken glass from the lab equipment scattered across the floor. She waited, crouching, for him to get back up and brawl. She waited, then waited some more. The dust was starting to settle and she realized he wasn’t getting back up. She looked down at her clenched fist in awe. He was light as a feather. Like punching a pillow.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Miss Beaker had shown up at the sound of shouting and entered the classroom just in time to see her prized student wallop a boy through the concrete wall. Coffee stained her blouse and dust sprinkled her hair. "BLOSSOM UTONIUM!"

Blossom's posture suddenly changed. She looked like she had only just realized what she had done. Like someone else had possessed her in that second.

"I never would have expected this from you! You could have killed someone! What were you thinking?!" The teacher was running now to inspect the damage on the fallen boy in the hallway. 

"Huh? But, he was-" Blossom looked around a little shell shocked for a moment, hoping some other student might speak up and defend her actions. All she saw, however, was twenty petrified faces peering back at her.

“Good lord!” 

She then jolted her head back to Miss Beaker who was holding Brick up, propping him on her shoulder. He was out like a light, his head covered in cuts and bleeding. That’s impossible. One Hit shouldn’t have hurt him that bad! Her stomach dropped to her knees. The look on her teacher's face made Blossom feel like she was the worst person in the world at that moment.

"Principal's office! NOW!"

The clock on the wall just kept ticking. Ticking Ticking Ticking. Bubbles sat down by her sister in the empty hallway, trying not to look at the two boys sitting down across from her. They looked just as uncomfortable sitting in the dead silence as she felt. Boomer hadn't even looked at her since this morning. She sighed a little to herself. How did things get so messy?

First Blossom came home in a tizzy last night and now this. Punching a Rowdyruff boy through a wall sounded like a stunt Buttercup would pull, not their responsible leader. Blossom was practically sobbing when she saw her being dragged into the principal's office 15 minutes ago. Brick was nowhere to be seen and Butch had almost freaked out when the school nurse arrived to tell them he was fine and sleeping like a log. The four were then instructed to sit outside and wait. A school police officer was posted down the hallway looking bored. He was placed there to make sure they didn't run but Bubbles thought that was pretty stupid. He was just a normal man after all.

Tick Tap Tick Tap. Buttercup started tapping her foot, her loud boot echoing all the while. Between the ticking and the tapping Bubbles thought she might just go nuts. "Buttercu-" 

"Can you PLEASE stop doing that?!" 

The two girls, and Butch, turned to Boomer who was holding his hands over his ears. 

Buttercup scowled at him. "Doing what?"

He pointed aggressively at her foot "That! It's so noisy I can't hear myself think!"

She tapped even harder. "Huh? So what else is new?"

Butch suddenly slammed his foot down hard and she stopped. "Shut up cunt! Only I can call him stupid!" He was obviously pissed and Buttercup was quickly matching his mood.

"Well I think you're both fucking stupid. Brick too. It's his fault we're in this mess!" Her voice raised a little with every word.

Butch jolted up then and the cop down the hallway stood at attention. 

"It's your fucking sister's fault we're in this mess! The nosy bitch just couldn't leave him alone! None of you fucking whores leave us the fuck alone!"

Buttercup was on her feet in an instant, only inches from Butch's face. Her features were the embodiment of rage. "Blossom had the right idea! If I was her I woulda killed him! And you too!” She gave his chest a shove. “I'm sick of looking at you fucking scum! LEAVE! GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR CITY!"

All four were standing now, glaring each other down. The cop down the hall took another step towards them. Bubbles glanced at the man then finally over at Boomer in front of her. He didn’t look as angry as his brother. In fact, he seemed a little sad. He was searching her expression for something but for what she didn’t really know. He took a breath then finally broke the tense silence.

"Do you feel that way too?"

"Of course she does!" Buttercup spat, turning her head away from Butch and to the blond boy.

He cast her a glare. "I wasn't talking to you. I was asking her."

The bold tone in his voice took Buttercup by surprise. She glanced over to her sister who looked like a deer in the headlights. Boomer looked her straight in the eyes once more and repeated his question.

"Bubbles, Do you want us to leave too? Do you not want to see me anymore?"

Her stomach was turning in knots as she looked at his expectant face. Did she want him to leave? She thought they had been getting along but then he ghosted her without warning. Why would he leave for almost a month without a word?

"It seems like you were the one who didn't want to see me." She covered her mouth, she didn't mean to say that part out loud.

"What? I did want to see you!" He seemed to visibly relax. "The whole time I was gone I was thinking about coming back here! Coming back to you!" 

Bubbles felt her cheeks burn hotly and Buttercup shot a bewildered look to Butch who could only reciprocate.

"Why didn't you answer my calls then? I waited up every night for weeks thinking you would call but you never did! I was so worried Boomer!" 

They stepped closer to each other now, their green siblings looking on, completely dumbfounded by this new revelation.

"I'm so sorry- wait you were worried about me?" He rubbed the back of his neck a little sheepishly and Bubbles smiled at him for the first time in ages.

"Duh! You're my friend! I thought something happened to you!" 

Boomer seemed to slump a little at the word "friend" and Butch let out a small snort at his brother's expense.

"What the fuck Bubbles!" Buttercup finally piped up, her anger shifted to her baby sister now. "You gave him your phone number? Are you stupid?!"

Bubbles crossed her arms at her and huffed. "Well you guys said to get close to them and I did!"

"Wait. What?"

"Bubbles!"

"So you were plotting something bitch!"

"AHEM."

The group turned to the now open door, A very angry looking Vice-Principal Keane stood with her arms crossed. A deflated Blossom next to her, eyes red and puffy from crying.

"I'd like to speak with all of you." Miss Keane gestured inside her office. "Now."

The five teens shared a glance then all piled into her tiny office like ducks in a row. Principle Mayor was sitting in the corner doodling in a notebook. He seemed to have gone a little senile in his old age, but this job was good at keeping him busy.

"Sit down." Miss Keane took a seat behind her large desk. It was obvious she really ran this school. They all took a seat across from her instantly. She hadn't lost her touch.

"Blossom told me her side of the story." She glanced over at the girl who was trying not to cry, her two sisters sat beside her, comforting her. "And I would like for Brick to tell me his once he wakes up." 

She was looking at the boys now. They seemed a little caught off guard by her authoritative tone. It's not every day someone spoke to them like that. Especially not a human. 

"This matter will be handled then. But as for now, since I have you, I want to talk to you boys about your month-long absence." 

Boomer and Butch exchanged a glance. Brick usually handled this sort of thing, and he hadn't given them a script yet. They had to ad-lib now. Shit.

"Yeah? What about it?" Butch leaned back in his seat a bit looking cocky, his go-to defense was always offense.

"Well," Miss Keane adjusted some papers on her desk. "Did you know a month-long absence can warrant Juvy for you and Jail time for your father?"

Boomer gasped. It was obviously a fake one. His go-to defense was always dense. "No! We had no idea, Miss Cane!" 

Butch elbowed his brother and motioned towards the plaque on her desk. He hadn't even bothered to learn her name. They heard Bubbles snort, trying to stifle her laughter.

"Right, well, I won't contact the authorities this time. But if you miss a single day more without a valid excuse I won't hesitate. Do I make myself clear?" 

Miss Keane ignored the look on the girl’s faces. These boys could be sent to Juvy over this, but if there was any chance they could stay out of prison and in school she would happily take it. Every child deserves a chance at an education. Even ones with criminal records.

"Crystal!" "Yes!" The boys nodded enthusiastically at her, thanking the devil they may just survive this interrogation without their leader.

"Good. Oh, and all of you boys will have to attend at least a month of summer school." They stopped nodding then.

"Huh?! What the fuck is summer school?!" Butch bellowed out. It was Boomer's turn to elbow him.

Miss Keane took a pause and decided to let that curse slide too. She knew they weren't used to this sort of environment.

"It's just what it sounds like. While everyone else is out having fun during the summer you will be here. Learning everything you missed while you were gone. I’d say an extra month of school sure beats prison wouldn’t you?"

“No!” Butch made a face and went to stand but Boomer held him down.

Buttercup couldn't hold her laughter anymore. The look on his face was too rich.

"Oh, Buttercup is that funny?" Miss Keane put her chin in her hand and looked down at a paper on her desk. The smile on the green puff’s face faltered. "It says here you are failing at least half of your classes. The worst offender being your English Grade at a solid F. Well, Isn't that hilarious! If you don't get these grades up by May you will join your friends here in summer school!"

Buttercup stood to her feet then. No way in hell was she going to summer school. Especially not with the fucking Rowdyruff boys. 

"Miss Keane! I can't go to summer school! Um. I have to be free to save the city! The crime rate is always highest in the summer!" 

Butch laughed at her this time.

The Vice-principal sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You three girls are students here just like everyone else. PowerPuff Girls or no."

"HMm? PowerPuff Girls?" The mayor suddenly perked up, dropping the crayon in his hand.

Miss Keane cringed inwardly. She had to get these kids out of here before he had another tangent.

"We'll I've said all I needed to say. If you all don't start getting along there will be repercussions. Do you understand?"

All the teens nodded at her as she rushed around the desk flapping her hands up, gesturing them to stand. 

"Good. Boys, Brick will sleep here until school is over and you can take him home then. Now get out. Back to class. Shoo." 

She was shoving them out the door as the mayor stood on her desk, grabbing the curtain from a nearby window and planting it firmly around his body.

"That's not a sash mayor!" was all they heard as she slammed the door in their faces.

The five all looked at each other in shock for a moment, but then the bell rang and each trotted off to their respective classes without a word.

The lunchroom was full of chatter. If the students weren't already excited after their vacation they were really roaring now. Blossom's "fight" was the talk of the school.

"I can't believe you let a girl save your ass Elmer." Mitch said, punching the boy’s arm. The group had all their attention on Elmer today. Butch sat with them too but he seemed too preoccupied with Susie sitting next to him to pay the boys any mind. Buttercup rolled her eyes at their shameless flirting. Guess they made up.

"Whatever dude.” Elmer said, rubbing his now tender arm. “Blossom is really cool. She's super smart too, and pretty! I'll let her be my knight and shining armor any day." He shook his head and flushed at the memory of her standing up to the scariest boy in school for him.

"She is hot. Not cute like Bubbles but like sexy hot." Harry thought to himself aloud.

"If you like librarians." Floyd added.

Mitch turned to the sullen girl next to him. She had barely touched her food. "Hey Buttercup hook me up with one of them already!"

She frowned. Her mind was so preoccupied with the terror of summer school she had mostly tuned them out. How the hell was she going to get her English grade up in five months? It’s impossible. Mr. Holmes hated her guts.

She glared at her friend, "I love my sisters too much to put them through even an excruciating second around your stupid ass."

Mitch looked back at her a moment then smirked. It looked mischievous. "Someones grumpy. What's wrong? Jealous Cause we said they were hot and not you?"

She crossed her arms and pouted some more, not bothering to entertain him with a response.

"Aww. Come'er. I'll give you some lovin’ Butterbutt!" 

Mitch reached over rubbing his hand in her hair and pretend-kissing the air around her. She pulled away, trying to stay angry but she couldn't hold in her laughter for long. Her best friend knew just how to cheer her up. Her laughter only grew when the other boys joined in, reaching over to ruffle her hair and making mock kissing noises. Butch turned his attention away from Susie to watch on curiously. He hadn't heard her laugh like that since she lay on the ground underneath him on Halloween and the image of her bloody in the moonlight flooded his memory for an instant.

"Whatever! Like I'd wanna kiss any of you little boys." She said, shoving them off of her with ease.

"Oh ho! Not enough man for ya huh?" Mitch put his hand to his heart and shook his head in mock pain.

Buttercup took a large unfeminine bite of her Burger. 

"Thath Right." She said with her mouth full. 

She heard Susie scoff at her but ignored it. She didn't know how to deal with girls that weren't related to her. It was weird to even have one at her table. And this particular girl seemed to have a vendetta against her for some reason.

Her eyes were drawn to the entrance of the cafeteria as a couple of boys whistled when Blossom made her appearance. She looked totally ashamed and embarrassed at the attention. Buttercup didn't know why she would be embarrassed about something like this but she hated seeing her face look like that. She suddenly stood, waving enthusiastically to get her attention. The boys, sans Butch, at the table all froze. Buttercup laughed at their sudden cowardice as her sister approached the table.

"What is it Buttercup?"

She pointed at the spot across from her. "Eat lunch with me."

Blossom raised a brow at her, then glanced around at the group of boys. None of them looked her in the eyes. Elmer was especially interested in his lunch.

"Um. okay?" She gently took the seat across from her sister. Butch thought the sudden virgin shaming was pretty interesting. He had a smirk on his lips as he watched.

"So," Buttercup kept shoveling food in her mouth. "We were all just talking about how sexy hot you are." 

Harry coughed a little as his drink when down the wrong pipe.

Blossom crossed her arms at that, she was full-on blushing. "Oh haha Buttercup! Did you just invite me over here to pick on me?"

Buttercup looked up at her then, feeling a little guilty. She had initially meant to cheer her up but she never knew how. She just always seemed to make things worse. Why was comforting people so hard?

"No. Just making conversation."

"Well you are like super pretty! You and Bubbles both!" 

The table turned to Susie now. She had scooted a little towards Blossom, her brown eyes glittering.

Buttercup scrunched her face up a little. It was obvious she intentionally left her out of the complement.

"Um. Well, thanks?" Blossom fiddled with her own meal. She wasn’t very hungry. The image of Brick’s limp body kept popping in her mind. She should have handled that better.

"Who's pretty?"

The table jumped to see Boomer, Bubbles not far behind.

"Blossom and Bubbles!" Susie exclaimed, watching the two squeeze in between her and Blossom without invitation. The table was completely packed now.

"Oh yeah they definitely are!" Boomer looked to his right at Bubbles.

She giggled a little, leaning over Boomer to face the girl. “Susie you’re the one that's gorgeous! I love your blouse by the way!”

Buttercup and the boys all looked uncomfortable at the open compliments being passed around between the girls. They just didn’t speak to each other that way. Buttercup frowned and ate in silence. She wished she hadn't said anything.

"Excuse me." The crowded table all looked up to see the school nurse standing there. Concern etched her face. "Butch, Boomer. I need to talk to you."

The ruffs were standing in an instant. This couldn't be good. 

"What is it?"

She tilted her head frantically, urging them to follow.

"It's about Brick."


	7. Humanity

Brick's eyes fluttered open and he rolled his head around the soft pillow. The apartment was still and the light from the setting sun flushed in through his open blinds. He relaxed a little at the familiarity and thanked God for the silence. The bed felt like a much needed warm embrace. Coziness and tranquility rushed through his whole body. He kicked his legs back and forth slowly under the covers and decided he never wanted to leave it. He could sense the Chemical X pumping through his veins once again and felt like a million bucks. Guess some beauty sleep was all he needed. 

He sat up, taking note that he was only in a pair of sweatpants, and stretched. He didn't remember how he got here but this feeling of bliss was so unusual he decided not to wonder about it for too long. 

A sudden noise in the kitchen caught his attention and he begrudgingly got up to investigate. A woman he didn't recognize was there cooking something with her back to him. The warm sunlight illuminated her frame. 

"Oh you're finally awake?" Her voice sounded a little familiar but different. Like an unknown artist singing a cover of your favorite song. "Come sit down. Breakfast is almost ready."

Brick watched as his legs moved all on their own to the island counter, sitting down across from the mysterious woman. She began humming, her back still turned to him. Her voice smooth as silk to his ears. He felt like something was missing but he wasn't sure what.

"Here dear." The woman turned to him then, showing that she had no face at all. Brick thought that was strange but he didn't feel afraid, just happy at this moment. He grabbed his fork then looked down at the stack of warm sweet pancakes and took a generous bite. The flavor was like nothing he had tasted before. He glanced at the woman once more to complement the dish but quickly realized he couldn't speak. 

"Yes. Eat up, dear." 

He watched the woman's kind demeanor turn cold as he grabbed at his throat, clawing at it like a wild animal. Smoke began to curl under his feet and he stood up quickly, knocking down his seat in the process. The woman's face peeled away bit by bit like paper, revealing familiar red skin underneath the mask. "Brick." She was screeching like a banshee now. "Briiick. brick. BRiiiicK ! BRICK!"

"BRICK!" 

Brick's eyes felt like lead as he forced them open. He took a sharp breath as the pain flooded his entire body. A pool of sweat lay in the bed beneath him. He went to sit up but cursed at the jolt in his stomach and lowered back down. He turned his eyes upward and met a pair of cobalt ones. 

"Boomer? What the fuck?" His voice was hoarse like he hadn't drank water in years. Boomer reached over and grabbed a cold rag from somewhere, placing it onto Brick’s head. He jumped at how icy it felt on his skin.

"Sorry Brick, you've been asleep for like two days. I was worried you were dead or somethin." 

"What?!" Brick shot up then, despite the pain. "Two days?!"

Boomer lowered him back down to the bed gently. "Yeah. You've been sweating and cussing and talking about mothers and stuff. It really freaked me out man. I even called Mojo to come look at you."

Brick looked around his room then, It was dark and only illuminated by a small lamp in the corner. Most importantly though the whole thing was spinning and he felt like his whole body was boiling. Like a furnace about to explode. "Mojo? What did he say?"

He saw Boomer frown. 

"He said your powers are coming back but cause you got injured they are coming back too quick, tryin’ to compensate. Something about it taking a toll on your body and your fire powers could burn you alive if we don't keep you cool." 

Brick only just noticed the puff coming out of his brother's mouth as he spoke. It was cold enough in the room to see his breath. 

Brick was unusually smart but he felt pretty stupid as his baby brother coddled him. He was supposed to be the strong leader who never relented but now he was more helpless than a sniveling baby. He had never felt more pathetic than he did at this moment. 

"Sorry Boom." His voice was almost a whisper but Boomer's super hearing caught it and he shook his head. 

"Don't worry about it, bro. I'm stupid but I can at least help with stuff like this." 

Brick tried to say ''You're not stupid'' but the words wouldn't come out. 

"Er. Actually there's something else." Boomer looked like he wanted to say something but he was afraid of the repercussions. Brick felt a little guilty that his brother would be afraid of him even in a situation like this.

"Go ahead." He whimpered out. 

"Well Mojo said if we got some Chemical X to inject you with you would be fine again." 

Brick scrunched his brow. He couldn't see why his brother would even bring that up right now. It's not like they could get their hands on any. If they could he wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. 

Boomer noticed the look on his face and continued, a little too quickly. "So. Er. I sent Butch to the Powepuff house to get some." 

The already cold room seemed to drop twenty degrees from the icy stare they shared.

The professor had been enjoying his night off. It was a rare treat he never seemed to get these days. 

He was puffing his pipe and watching some TV with his three beautiful daughters. He glanced around the room at them. Blossom had her knees to her chest beside him. The professor frowned at the forlorn look on her face. She had gotten her first-ever scolding at school two days ago. He wasn't angry though, she had been sticking up for a helpless boy after all. Yes, he was proud of her. He just wished she knew how proud of her he really was.

He glanced over to Bubbles sprawled on the floor in front of him now and smiled. It seemed like her sour mood this past month had improved exponentially. He really wanted to ask what had happened but he felt she would confide in him when she was ready. It was really difficult to talk to your father about certain things. Too bad they didn't have a mother to confide in. 

"What's wrong professor?"

Buttercup asked as she came up behind them from the kitchen, bowl of popcorn in hand. He smiled at her and pat the seat next to him. She always acted tough and distant but she had such a caring heart. He just wished she could let others see what a sweet girl she truly was. Yes, though being a single parent was hard at times these quiet moments made it all worth it.

BOOM

All four of them jolted at the sudden rumble outside of their house. The professor was knocked to the floor but the girls were standing and battle-ready. They eyeballed the front door for a tense moment, waiting. Confusion etched their faces when a calm knock came from the other side of it.

"Um. I'll get it." Buttercup glanced to her sisters then shot to the door in a flash of green. As soon as she turned the lock it was slammed open with force revealing a very annoyed looking Butch Jojo.

"Yo." was all he said as he walked on in, scooting right past her enraged face. 

"Butch? What the F-" She looked to her father and caught herself. "Heck are you doing here?!" 

Bubbles shot past both of them to look out the front door, inspecting the damage. "Hey! you messed up my yard!" 

She was always picky about the lawn.

Butch rubbed the back of his head. Man, this was gonna suck.

"Yea. Sorry. Uh." He surveyed the room, ignoring the seething green puff beside him and looking directly at the professor. "Are you the dad?"

The professor blinked a few times then got himself up off of the floor, with the help of Blossom. 

"Yes. I am their father." He walked towards the boy a little cautiously but was courteous as he could be in this situation. "And who might you be?" 

Buttercup placed herself in front of her father in an instant, shoulders bowed. 

"This is Butch." she spat, not taking her eyes off of him. "He's a Rowdyruff." 

The professor eyed the boy over and furrowed his brow. Those Rowdyruffs had been nothing but trouble for his daughters years ago. He very much remembered the state his sweet babies would come home in after a scrap with them. What could possibly possess this boy to come to his front door unannounced?

"This is gonna be weird for me to ask." Butch was looking at the floor. He could beat someone to death without flinching but asking for help was a whole different ballgame. "My brother is dying and we need Chemical X to save him. Um. Can you spare a cup?"

The room was silent. Buttercup looked suspicious and Bubbles looked a little concerned. Blossom looked absolutely distraught behind her father. 

"Hmmm." the professor looked around to his girls. "This seems like something that warrants a family meeting. If you could just step outside a moment." 

The man was already shooing him out of the exit. Butch raised his brow but complied. His super hearing could reach through a door anyway.

As soon as it shut behind him he heard Buttercup bellowing. "No way professor! He's definitely lying! It has to be a trap." 

Of course, she would think he was lying. Only an idiot would believe something so dumb. 

"I don't know Buttercup, I don't see the harm in it." 

He smirked to himself. Bubbles was more like Boomer than he thought. 

He was surprised however to hear Blossom's strained voice. She sounded like she might cry again. 

"This is all my fault professor. We have to help him even if we don't like it!" 

Buttercup shouted over her now. "It's not your fault! And what if it's a trap to get his fat fingers on some Chemical X?!" 

Butch looked down at his hands. They weren't that fat. 

"I don't care! If someone dies because of my mistake I'll never forgive myself. Even if it is Brick. Do it, Professor. Please." 

There were another few seconds of silence before the door opened in front of him once more. 

"Alright, Butch was it? Please follow me." 

The man gestured Butch inside and led him down the hallway to a locked metal door. Butch looked away out of courtesy as the professor positioned himself in front of the keypad and entered a code. The girls hovered nearby and he rolled his eyes at the look on his counterpart’s face. If he wanted this man dead he would have killed him already. 

“Come along now son.” The professor was already down the metal steps and into the darkness. Butch looked down the dark steps for a long second before following. Talk about the lion’s den. 

The girls all stood around in front of the opened door of the laboratory, ready to swoop in if Butch tried anything funny. They relaxed visibly when the two reemerged, the professor holding a small black medicine bag. He closed the door behind them then gestured all of them to follow him. 

"I'm giving you three doses of Chemical X," He said as he led the group down the hall to the front door, "You should inject it every four hours, this is very important, If you do it too soon it will be too much for his body, too late and-" 

He stopped and turned around when they reached the exit once again. The poor boy in front of him looked more than apprehensive. 

"Um.” Butch fiddled with the sleeve of his hoodie shyly. “I thought maybe you could do it?" 

"WHAT?" Buttercup stomped in front of him, "You are not taking my dad to your lair!" 

He looked down at her. She was being way too cocky. Did she forget he knew her big criminalizing secret? Maybe she just didn’t care. God, she was making this annoying job even harder. 

"Well, I can't inject Brick!" He held up his hands so they were inches from her face. "I got fat fingers!" 

The professor saw the dangerous glint in his daughter’s eyes and interjected. 

"I suppose I could make a house call just this once." 

Buttercup was about to protest again but Blossom stepped forward. "I'll go with you. For safety." 

"Me too!" Bubbles chimed in, already getting her coat from the closet by the door. Butch grimaced to himself. Brick wasn't gonna like this one bit. 

"H-h-hey. C-c-come on in." 

Boomer was visibly shivering as he opened the front door and gestured the group into his home. He glared at Butch as he passed. His brother didn't have to bring the entire Utonium family. Brick wasn't gonna like this. He looked at the man in the lab coat who looked a little windblown. He guessed they flew over here. 

"Fuck its cold in here." 

Butch didn't see the girls jump at his casual cursing as he headed straight for the couch to get his blanket. His embarrassing quest was finally over. 

Boomer held out his freezing hand to the man in front of him. "Nice to meet you. I'm B-Boomer." 

The professor smiled politely at the boy’s courtesy and took his hand. "Yes hello Boomer, We've met before. You can call me Professor Utonium." 

Boomer thought for a minute then felt his cold cheeks warm at the memory of being in his underwear in the professor's lab about ten years ago. So much for a good first impression. 

"Where's Brick?" 

He turned to Blossom then. Her face was wrought with concern. He thought that was a little bit weird.

"He's in his r-room. This way." He walked towards the hall and the Professor followed. He paused as he noticed the redhead following too. "U-um. Sorry Blossom. Its Boys only." 

Her brow scrunched at him. 

"What? Why? I can't leave my father in there alone!"

Boomer raised an eyebrow at her. Brick couldn't hurt a fly right now. 

"Um, w-well he's naked so." 

He saw her cheeks flush at that. 

"Well, leave the door cracked at least."

Boomer nodded and led the professor through. Blossom couldn't help herself and glanced a peek inside. Her stomach dropped from what she saw. He looked more like a corpse than a boy. This was all her fault.

"I didn't know you guys were rich." 

Butch glanced up from his makeshift blanket fortress on the couch to see Buttercup rubbing her arms and eyeing his TV. 

"Guess that's not surprising though." he frowned at her as she locked eyes with him. 

"Probably stole it." 

“Whatever.” He huffed and cranked up the volume. They didn't have to steal anything. Not anymore. 

"Whoa they have a Delonghi!!" Bubbles yelled out in disbelief from her spot in the kitchen. Not even trying to hide the fact that she was snooping.

"A Dwhaty?" Buttercup asked, not taking her eyes off of the TV in front of her. 

"It's an Espresso maker! it's like a THOUSAND dollars!"

"Hm? Do you like coffee?" Boomer suddenly appeared next to the blonde girl, Blossom lagging behind him. She felt a little shy about snooping now. 

"I did a part-time barista job last summer. I really liked it. I really like coffee too!" She said shyly, taking her hands off of the machine and putting them behind her back.

"Well," Boomer reached behind her and opened the cabinet, pulling out a few glass mugs. "Want some?" 

She smiled at him and nodded her head. Her blonde hair bouncing in her excitement. 

"Cool. Okay." Boomer went to the machine and placed his mug down. 

He eyed the thing, his finger hovering the many buttons. This was Brick's baby and Boomer had never used it before, since he hated coffee.

"Ummm. Yeah. Okay." He went to push a random button but jumped with a shock when Bubbles grabbed his hand in her own, directing it. 

"It's this one!" She giggled at the face he was making. His cheeks burned at the contact, her hand was cold but still warmer than his. It was soft too. 

Blossom looked at the two blushing blondes then over to her sister in disbelief. She returned her a look that seemed to say "I know right?!". This was a new unsettling development they would definitely be discussing when they got home. 

"U-Um." Boomer piped, stuttering from something other than cold this time. "Anyone else want some?" 

Blossom made her way to the island counter and took a seat. Her body and heart both felt heavy. "Sure, that sounds nice. But none for Buttercup." 

"Huh? Why not?!" The girl chimed, pulling her eyes away from the TV and still rubbing her arms. 

"Oh Please! You know caffeine gives you nightmares." 

Butch laughed from his perch and Buttercup shot him a glare. She grumbled something about freezing then turned her eyes back to the screen once more. She really should have worn a jacket like Blossom told her to.

Boomer decided to sit down at the counter now. He noticed Blossom peeking at him from the corner of her eye but he didn't care. He still stared at Bubbles bravely, watching her make fancy drinks for everyone. She really seemed happy to help other people whenever she could. He wished he could be like that too.

"Girls." The professor suddenly made an appearance from the hallway. Boomer noted he was as quiet as a mouse. "I just got an important call, I really need to get to XCorp right away. It’s urgent." 

Boomer, Butch and Blossom all stood up at once and looked at him frantically. 

"But what about Brick?" Blossom was the first to speak. Everyone took note of her concerned voice. 

"I'm sorry. One of you Boys will have to do the other two doses. One at Ten PM and the last at Two AM. It's important that you remember those exact times." 

The two brothers shared a look. Brick's life was in their hands now. He was doomed. 

"But professor!" Blossom went to protest more but was stopped by Buttercup who joined her side instantaneously and gently put a hand on her shoulder. 

"We got it, professor. We're just gonna finish up our drinks and head home. Should we keep the door unlocked?" 

The Professor stopped in front of the exit and eyed the teens over suspiciously before shaking his head no. 

"I'll be gone all night again. I'm sorry girls." 

Buttercup went to his side then, the others watching curiously as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "It's ok. Be careful on the way over. Do you need a lift?" 

He blinked a few times then smiled at her sweetness, and shook his head. "I'll get a cab. Goodbye girls. Don't stay up too late now!" 

Buttercup opened the door for him and said a sweet "We won't!" before closing it behind him. 

Her signature scowl returned to her face once again as she turned back around to face her sister. 

"There."

Blossom raised her brow. 

"There what?" 

"Ugh. I did the dirty work so now you can give Brick those stupid shots or whatever. I know it's eating you alive." 

Bubbles giggled from her spot at the counter.

"That was so smooth Buttercup! You pulled right on his fatherly heartstrings with that cheek kiss!" 

Buttercup crossed her arms and walked back over to her spot in the living room, intending to watch the game on that sweet 70inch flat-screen. 

"Wait hold on I'm gonna do it?" Blossom looked around at them, flabbergasted. 

"Well you're probably more qualified than we are..." Boomer looked at her pleadingly. God, please don't make him kill his own brother. 

She glanced around to all the expectant faces and groaned. 

"Fine." 

It had already been four hours since they set foot into the Rowdyruff residence and Buttercup hadn't taken her eyes off of the TV in front of her. The annoying Christmas ads blasted every few minutes and she scowled to herself. Blossom had disappeared to Brick's quarters, and Bubbles to Boomer's, with the door open of course. Now she was all alone with the one person she loathed the most.

She had tried to remain standing for as long as she could, shifting her weight from one leg to the other periodically, but finally relented and sat down on the arm of the black leather couch. Her teeth were chattering from the cold but neither of the two said a word. Butch hadn't moved from his cozy fortress. She noticed he did glance at her from time to time though. He probably enjoyed her suffering. Asshole.

"Go to my room and get a jacket or something." 

She jumped at his voice. His eyes were still on the TV. 

"Your clattering is annoying the shit outta me." 

"You couldn't pay me to go in there." She shivered out. 

He glared at her. 

"Fine bitch! Go freeze somewhere else then!" 

She didn't move. 

God, why was she so stubborn? It drove him up the wall. It was weird enough that her sisters made themselves right at home. Now she wouldn't leave his side. What was her problem anyway? God, she was so annoying!

He stood up, groaning as the warmth escaped his body. Buttercup watched him reach up and pull his big black hoodie off of his shoulders and slam it directly into her face. She noticed he only had a white undershirt on underneath it. He plopped back down with a huff and gathered up his blankets recreating his little hovel without a word. 

She blinked a few times at the garment in her arms. It was warm. Really warm. She peeked over at him for a second but stood up and put it on wordlessly, hugging herself and curling into the soft fabric. It was so big on her the bottom of it rested on her thighs. She plopped back down onto the sofa, properly in a seat this time, and curled her knees into her chest, creating a little ball of warmth. She took a sneaky whiff of the fabric. It smelled like musky cologne. 

Boomer was elated and a little embarrassed to have a girl in his room. Especially since that girl was Bubbles. 

She had happily gone through all his belongings and he was glad anything incriminating he owned was locked away somewhere else. He did keep an eye on his mattress though.

He sat on the floor with his back against the bed frame. Bubbles sat beside him, doodling in a sketchbook that was propped up on her legs. They had just been here together for hours now, wordlessly enjoying each other's company. Occasionally she would catch him staring at her, but she only gave him one of those sweet smiles. Man, she was cute. 

"I missed you in art class you know." She suddenly piped up, not taking her eyes off of the paper. "While you were... away."  


Boomer felt the quiet tranquility leave his body then. The rush of guilt flooded back to him. Right. How could he have forgotten? They couldn't be friends. Brick wanted to destroy them. Or worse. The plan was already in motion.

"Yeah." 

She turned to face him then, his sudden mood shift was impossible to ignore.

"Boomer? What's wrong?" She batted those long eyelashes at him. He just felt worse now.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." He couldn't even look at her. 

She studied his features closely. He was terrible at lying.

"Does it have something to do with why you were gone for so long?" 

He nodded, still looking at his feet. 

"Well, If something is bothering you, I hope you know you can tell me about it." 

Her sweet voice echoed in his ears. Could he just tell her? What would she do? Would she hate him forever?

She watched him as he wordlessly got up and made his way to the door, closing it gently.

Brick fell in and out of consciousness. Every time he woke he wasn't sure if it had been minutes hours or days. Once a man came in and stuck something cool into his arm. The liquid felt like ice in his veins, but he didn't protest. He knew the surge of Chemical X and it was welcome.

He wanted to strangle Boomer when he told him the Powerpuff girls were supposed to provide him with some Chemical X. Like hell he needed to owe them a favor.

He was thankful now though. He was getting more coherent by the second. At least he thought that was the case until he looked to his right and saw a familiar girl seated next to him. She was reading a book from his shelf. He tried to search the cover but couldn’t place it. Whatever it was she didn’t look like she was enjoying it. Her face was scrunched up in disgust as she scanned the page.

"Blossom?"

She jolted at the sound of his raspy voice beside her, dropping the book in her hands. 

"YES! Um." She cleared her throat, he noticed she wouldn't look at him. "Yeah, It's me."

He tried to turn his head to face her but winced instead. His body had cooled down tremendously but now it was sore all over. Like the tail end of a bad fever.

"Do you need anything? Water?" She was standing now. She must have found the floor pretty interesting because she wouldn't take her eyes off of it. 

"Please." was all he could say in response. 

He didn't want her help but beggars can't be choosers. His throat was so dry he had forgotten what water even felt like on his tongue. He watched her nod stiffly and exit out of his line of sight. 

He closed his eyes for just a second but when he opened them again she was already there, glass in hand. He tried to sit up and take it but it just wasn't happening. She must have seen him struggling because she flushed then reached her arm behind his head, raising him up gingerly. She put the glass to his lips. He drank so eagerly it spilled down the side of his mouth. He probably looked like a savage but he didn't care. The cold water was the most refreshing thing he had ever had.

Once he was done she set him back down again and retook her spot by his side. She was reaching down and rummaging in something. Brick felt his heart beat a little fast at that. He hoped she hadn't found HIM's letter. Where did he put it again? 

"I've got to give you your last dose." She suddenly reemerged with a syringe in her hand. The contents of it were black as night. He raised a brow at her, the memory of their little argument the other day was flooding back to him. As was the revelation of her spying on him.

"That's not arsenic is it?" He muttered out. He was surprised that she laughed. 

"No. If I wanted to kill you, I would just smother you." She said, grabbing his arm and searching his veins. "It's less messy." 

He watched her concentrating face closely. Why was she helping him? They were sworn enemies and he had plans to kill her soon. Does being a hero make you that stupid or was she plotting? He winced as she injected the fluid. 

"Okay. All done." She sighed, sounding relieved. "You should be back to normal by tomorrow." 

She finally looked him in the eye then. He studied them closely. No, there wasn’t a single ounce of plotting in them, just pure kindness for someone in need. She really must be the embodiment of everything nice. If he was her counterpart just what did that make him? 

He carefully grabbed her forearm and she jumped at the warmth of his hand. She seemed like the type to give an honest answer, so he guessed that the best way to go about this was to just ask an honest question. 

"Why are you helping me?" 

She looked down at him a little frazzled. Like she couldn't believe what he was asking and the answer was obvious. 

"Well, it's my fault you got hurt, isn't it? I could never let anyone die from my actions. Even my worst enemy." 

He searched her eyes a little longer then released his grip. She was helping because she thought it was her fault. What an idiot. His chest was fluttering but he didn't know if it was from the X or not. 

Must have been.

"Well, you're pretty stupid for that." He didn’t mean to laugh as he spoke but he couldn’t help it. What an absurd girl.

She frowned at his words, and his ability to insult her even when she saved his life.

"Well, I guess I am!" She huffed and went to gather her things. That was the final dose and she was tired of playing doctor to an ungrateful pompous arrogant boy.

"You’re welcome." Was all she said as she stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

After a moment he found the strength to sit up. He looked down at his bare chest and groaned. How long had he been naked?

As soon as Brick entered the school the next morning he came face to face with the frightening Vice-principal Keane. She had dragged him to the principal's office without a word and he felt a little on edge. The last thing he needed was to be sent to Juvy over something this stupid.

"So," The woman sat down at her huge desk. Brick noted his calculus teacher was sitting in the room as well. She didn't look quite as scary. In fact, she looked really pleased with herself. Weird. "Are you feeling better Brick?" 

He simply nodded at the question. He was feeling great. Blossom told the truth on that front. He woke up feeling stronger than he had felt in years. 

"Good. Good. Well, care to tell me what happened in your Chemistry class the other day?" 

"It was all my fault."

The two faculty members looked just as shocked as he felt at his instant response. What the hell? He didn't mean to blurt that out. 

"I mean. I was feeling bad and took my anger out on someone else. It won't happen again." He quickly added that last part. Man, he was really off his game today.

Miss Keane looked at his eyes for a moment then smiled. It looked a little mischievous.

"Well, that's good to hear. I suppose we should talk about punishment then. Miss Axiom here has told me you are exceptionally gifted but it seems you don't want to apply yourself."

Oh fuck no. The gears in Brick's head began turning rapidly. She wasn't going to say what he thought she was going to say... was she?

"And we both thought it would be a shame to let a prized student squander such talents." 

Brick thought of Blossom's friend who had been hounding him every chance she got. No. They can't be serious. He couldn't possibly do something so dorky. No way. He glowered at the two women in front of him but that just seemed to lift their mood all the more. 

"So welcome to the team Brick! The Pokey Oaks High mathletes are thrilled to have you!" 

He suddenly wished Blossom had opted to smother him instead.


	8. Christmas Eve

Boomer lay on his couch alone in his apartment. The holiday specials on the TV in front of him were blaring in the empty room. He watched only half interested. Tomorrow was Christmas but his family never celebrated it. Or any holiday for that matter. Being the son of evil might have something to do with it. He never really thought about it before. 

He hadn't gotten out of his sweatpants in days and was feeling incredibly lonely. He only had a small group he could turn to but they were all busy. 

Brick was gone, playing nice with Princess and her father. Butch was with his new group of friends. 

That only left Bubbles... 

His cheeks burned hotly as he remembered what happened the night she came over with her family to help Brick. He shoved his face in his hands and kicked his legs around to shake the shame away. How could he be so damn stupid?!

He was going to tell her about everything. Brick's deal with HIM and with Mr. Morbucks. The drugs. Hell, even his past sins and all the people he's hurt over the years. Everything. But once he closed his bedroom door and looked into those innocent sweet eyes he chickened out. She kept looking at him expectantly. What was he supposed to do?! 

His brain went into autopilot and he tried to kiss her.

"MMMMM!" He moaned into his hands and flailed around some more. She, of course, pulled away before he could do it. Why wouldn't she? She never showed any interest in him like that! They barely knew each other. Just casual talking on the phone doesn't mean she likes you, idiot. Stupid! She said they were just friends! The look on her face when she left that night told him all he needed to know. 

She kept talking to him at school and texting him like normal. Like nothing had ever happened. Or at least she tried to. He didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. He didn't know much of anything anymore. 

His self chastising was interrupted by the phone letting out a small ding on the coffee table in front of him. He reached his arm over to grab it and jolted up when he saw who the message was from. Speak of the angel.

"Hi! You busy?"

He swiped his fingers so fast he thought he might break the screen.

"Nope. Just sitting at home. Why?"

He watched the chat bubble intently. His stomach was turning in knots.

"Wanna come with me to the mall? I'm heading there in about 20 min."

The two of them on Christmas eve. What was this all about? He gulped. It couldn't be a date, could it?

"Hell yeah. I'll meet you there!"

He took off in a bolt of blue light without seeing the response and headed for the shower to wash off his three-day funk.

Butch looked around the dingy trailer interior. Man this place was a dump. Harry, Mitch, Floyd, and Lloyd were crammed on the ratty couch. He and Elmer were sitting on the ground in front of them. The group of boys around him were all loudly joking around. Mitch had snuck some of his grandma's whiskey from her liquor cabinet. Well snuck was a loose term. She wasn't home for the night. 

They all sat in the living room, comparing a stack of movies each of them had brought. Mitch was explaining that tonight was "fucked up movie night". A tradition he started in middle school with Buttercup. Basically once a month they meet up and compete on who has the most disgusting film to share. The winner gets bragging rights for being the most disturbing individual. Part of the fun is to see who could keep a straight face while watching all of the depravity. It seemed that Elmer usually lost though. 

"Buttercup always wins. I don't know where she even gets those things." Harry said, taking a swig from the bottle then passing it to Mitch on his right.

"Yeah. That chick is demented." Mitch added, wiping the top of the bottle with his sleeve and taking a quick gulp himself. "But not this time. I'm gonna give her nightmares." 

Flloyd laughed and gave him a soft punch to his arm. "You already give her nightmares!" 

Butch watched his new pals curiously. Even though they were crass the boys had an air of innocence about them. They were all around his age but none of them had ever done any serious crime or slept with anyone as far as he knew. Though, he was probably the weird one on that front. They were all only fifteen after all. Hanging around older scumbags does make you grow up pretty fast.

He glanced over to Mitch laughing without a care in the world. He wondered why he and Buttercup were so close. Butch figured they must have dated before or something because he's never just been friends with a girl. He didn't know if that was even possible.

The boys all glanced over as the front door of the trailer flew open and Buttercup waltzed on through like she owned the place. A stack of DVDs in one arm and a shopping bag in the other. Butch noticed she was still wearing his hoodie. She hadn't taken it off since he gave it to her. He was still a little pissed about it since it was his favorite.

"Huh? Did you dickheads start without me?" She dropped all her things onto the floor in front of the couch and snatched the bottle from Mitch's hand. Not bothering to wipe it clean first, she threw her head back for a long drink.

"Hey! save some for the rest of us!" Harry bellowed and she finally stopped gulping, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. Well technically, Butch frowned, it was his sleeve.

"Whatever. I bought some goodies." she kicked the bag at her feet then held the bottle up."Who's turn?" 

The boys immediately started ravaging the treat bag like a pack of starved animals. 

"It's Butch's turn." Elmer said, desperately fumbling with a bag of chips.

She held down the bottle in his direction and he snatched it. She wouldn't look him in the eye. Haughty bitch. He had only initially started hanging out with her friends to get a rise out of her but she pretty much ignored him for the most part. Though him knowing her big secret probably had a lot to do with it. They pretty much just tolerated each other with silent animosity. It was so fucking boring. Butch took an aggressive swig, thinking back to that fight they had. He wished they could do it again.

The lights suddenly flicked off and he could see Buttercup’s silhouette against the screen in front of them. The boys all whooped at the start of what looked like a snuff film and she floated over and took a seat on the floor between him and Elmer. Leaning her body so she was as far away from him as possible. He clicked his tongue at that but if she noticed she didn't show it. He wasn’t sure if it was the whiskey in his empty belly burning or if her unwillingness to even look at him made him so sick. 

Brick fiddled with his tie and looked around the huge ballroom, trying his best to ignore the yammering girl clinging to his arm. The horde of rich people around him were making small talk and pretending to like each other. God, he hated this sort of thing. But who else would do it? He thought of his brothers in this kind of situation and made himself smile at the image. Those two would have these old farts clutching their pearls in no time at all. 

This was labeled as a Christmas party, but everyone here knew it to be a launch party of sorts. X-ol was finally ready for distribution. He and Mr. Morbucks were about to be a whole lot richer.

Brick didn't really care about the money though. His stomach churned as he thought about what was to come next. He was going to fight the Powerpuff girls soon. He was going to fight Blossom soon. He felt weird when he thought about her. It's not like he liked her but she did save his life. Though it was all for her own self-righteous ego.

They had spent a lot of time together recently, though not by choice. Twice a week he had to stay after school for fucking mathletes. It was a nightmare. Mostly just nerdy kids reading big math books, prepping for competitions and making cringy puns. He and blossom just sat in silence most of the time. It seemed like neither of them wanted to be there.

"Why Princess, you look so beautiful this evening." A middle-aged man suddenly approached them. Brick didn't recognize him. He looked frail and walked with a cane but his demeanor commanded authority. Probably a bigwig.

"Why thank you!" Princess adjusted the tacky tiara on her head, held up by her puffy red hair, then lowered her arm to stroke the front of her gaudy white dress. "This gown is a DE la Renta. Custom made." 

"Well, my dear you have excellent taste." 

Brick couldn't hold back the little eye roll. Kiss ass. 

The man looked away from her then, and right into Brick's eyes. He was smiling but his stare was ice cold. Was he trying to be intimidating? Brick smiled politely at him and put out his hand. Like this geezer could ever make him shake in his boots. 

"Brick Jojo." The man took his hand and squeezed, his grip was fierce. "I've heard many great things about you. My name is Johnathan McIntire." 

His tone was cool but menacing. What's with this dude anyway? 

Brick was struggling to keep his polite composure. "It's a pleasure Mr. Mclntire." 

The man released his grasp. "Please, Call me John."

They locked eyes for another tense moment, but suddenly the concerto started to play, interrupting their strained encounter. 

"Oh Brick, dance with me!" Princess latched her talons into him. She was practically jumping up and down like a child in excitement. 

Brick groaned as the girl tugged him to the center of the ballroom floor violently. He'd rather die than dance in front of all these people.

"Well, I'll let you, two youngsters, to it then." John let out a chuckle, then lowered his voice so that only those with superpowers could hear. "I do hope we can see each other again soon."

Boomer looked around the packed food court. All the noise from people frantically doing some last-minute shopping around him was starting to give him a headache. It was really a pain to have superpowers sometimes.

Bubbles hadn’t arrived yet, but he sort of expected that since he arrived about five minutes early. He really needed to stop looking so eager. She was doing him a favor by pretending the not kiss didn’t happen. He should play it cool.

“Boomer!” 

He turned his head to see Julie from art class waving to him. Her other hand was laced in her girlfriend Clara’s. 

“Thank god we found you! It’s a madhouse in here! Is Bubbles with you?” 

Boomer frowned a little. He should have known this was going to be a group outing. Though, he thought, things like this weren’t so bad either. 

“Um, hey guys, no she’s not with me.”

The two girls exchanged a look then scanned the large crowd. “She better get here soon or she’s gonna miss the show.”

Boomer raised a brow at the redhead. “Show?” 

Julie looked back at him then. “Oh I guess you wouldn’t know, every year we come to watch some bands play Christmas music. It’s corny but Bubbles LOVES it.” 

"Yeah," Clara added, shaking her head. “That girl is crazy for Christmas.” 

As if on cue a blue streak shot in their direction. A few people in the crowd held their shopping bags from the sudden gust of wind.

“Merry Christmas guys!” Bubbles appeared before them. She had on a comically large puffer jacket that made her look like a baby blue gumdrop, a Santa hat was also pinned firmly to her head. 

The giggling girl’s cheeks and nose were pink from the cold. Boomer felt himself tense up at the sight of her.

The other two girls gave her a hug in greeting. 

“Are mike and Susie here yet?” She was bouncing up and down, scouring the crowd. Boomer tried to hide his smile, her enthusiasm was contagious. 

Julie nodded her head and looked out at the crowd once again. "Yeah, Susie is getting some last-minute gifts, and Mike volunteered to help her. They said they would meet us at the stage." 

Bubbles really started bouncing at the mention of the stage. She stopped a little shyly when she noticed Boomer’s presence, however. 

She glanced down and shuffled her feet over to him. "Hey, Boomer. I'm glad you came." 

Boomer steadied his heart rate and looked away from her. Looking as nonchalant as he could. Play it cool. "Sure. Thanks for the invite." 

Clara and Julie exchanged a look at this awkward display. Bubbles had told them about the almost kiss. She had said she felt bad, and that she liked Boomer but they just couldn’t be together. That it wasn’t right. They both thought that was pretty stupid, it was obvious they had some sort of chemistry. Maybe it had something to do with them both being super counterparts, but they really hit it off. They liked Boomer too. As far as they could tell he was a pretty fun straightforward guy. That's why they convinced Bubbles to invite him to their little outing this evening.

"Well let's get going or we're gonna be late!" Clara broke the strained silence, putting herself between the two and locking arms with both of them. She was always good at easing the tension in these situations. 

Julie locked onto Boomer's other arm and smirked over at him. "Just look at this crowd! We need our combined strength to bulldoze past these animals!" 

Boomer smiled again as the four marched through the crowd arm-in-arm. It was nice to have friends to hang out with. Maybe Christmas could be fun after all.

Buttercup yawned as the end credits flashed on the rickety TV. It wasn't late but the empty whiskey bottle in her hand probably had something to do with it. Maybe that second one was a bad idea.

"Man that one was kinda weak." Mitch slurred lazily from his perch. He and the boys were obviously feeling a little buzzed too, since they were cuddled on top of each other without shame on the couch. "Who's pick was that anyway?"

"It was mine." Elmer squeaked. "Sorry." 

He was the only one sober but he looked like he might throw up anyway. 

Buttercup glanced over to her right to see Butch texting on his phone. He didn't even pretend to watch half of the time. Why did he even come if it was so boring for him? 

She suddenly jolted as Mitch propped his socked foot right on top of her head. "That was the last one. Guess you won again Buttercup."

She grabbed his leg and pulled it hard, causing him to let out a girlish yelp. The other boys laughed.

"Well Butch didn't seem too bothered either. It might be a tie this time." Lloyd said as he freed himself from the pile and stood up to stretch. 

Butch glanced up at the sound of his name to see all eyes on him. The Jade ones looked especially leering. 

"Whatever." He shrugged "Stuff like this doesn't bother you when you've seen worse in real life." 

Mitch laughed hard at that and Butch scowled. He didn't like being laughed at. 

"What?!"

"Nothin man." Harry stood up then too, swaying a bit and knocking Elmer over a little as he did so. "Buttercup said the exact same thing the first time we did this. Guess you guys are a lot alike." 

Ruff and Puff shot an incredulous glance at each other. He noticed her cheeks were a little red from the alcohol. What a lightweight. 

"I'm nothin’ like that sack of shit." She said, standing up now, rocking a bit for balance as she stretched her arms high above her head. His hoodie hiked up right above her belt loop and he couldn't help but peep up at her milky white midriff. Wait, why was he looking at her like that? Maybe he was a lightweight too. 

She jumped as the phone in her pocket began to vibrate. She fumbled for it clumsily then answered without checking to see who it was. 

"What? Oh! hey." her voice took a girlish tone and the boys quickly took notice. 

"WHO'S THAT? YOUR BOOTY CALL?" Mitch belted out as he jumped up, clumsily making his exit out of the room and disappearing down the hall. 

Butch noticed her red cheeks seemed to redden even more.

"Hold on, sorry. I'm gonna go outside real quick."

"No way!" Harry loud whispered to her. "Is it really a booty call?!" 

He cackled when she flipped him off and stomped outside, slamming the trailer door behind her. 

"Ta-da!" Mitch suddenly reemerged with a pathetic looking blunt in hand, holding it high above his head. "Merry Christmas assholes!" 

The boys all mock cheered as he took a little bow and lit up, taking a puff and passing it around. Butch's attention was elsewhere though.

He couldn't help himself. There's no way it was a dude, this was Buttercup we were talking about. Though, he mused, it could be a chick. That would be kinda hot actually. He shook his head to clear that image before it even began. He really was tipsier than he thought. He looked down at his phone once more, but tilted his head ever so slightly to listen. 

"Sorry about that. I'm with the guys. Yeah." 

He strained even harder to hear the warbled voice on the phone. It sounded familiar. Where had he heard it before? 

"You comin over tonight darlin'?"

"I really shouldn't. I'm supposed to be home early." 

"Well has that ever stopped you before?" 

He peeked up at that. Using his X-ray vision to see her pacing outside of the trailer. Well, she was stumbling around. The snow was falling on her raven hair as she laughed shyly, tugging on the hem of his hoodie. 

"I should behave. It's Christmas. I can't be too naughty."

"Don't worry, Santa might mind but I sure won't. Come on out yeah?"

She paused and kicked the ground under her feet. Her eyes were heavy-lidded and the soft smile on her face seemed out of place. He had never seen her look like that before.

"Okay." 

Butch's head was spinning. Well, even more than before. 

Holy fucking shit. It really was a booty call. 

He didn't know why but his stomach was churning. Like the churning he got before a big fight but different. Exhilarating but frustrating all at once. His heart was pounding and the room shifted ever so slightly. What the fuck was going on? 

He suddenly realized the room was dead silent and jerked his head around to see all the boys looking completely out of their minds. Sitting still as corpses in their seats. The air was a haze of smoke. He glanced down at his hands then and realized he had been smoking this whole time as well. What the fuck? When did that happen?

"Hey guys I- Whoa." Buttercup was suddenly in front of them. When did she reemerge? She cackled at the looks on their faces. "God, you guys are toasted."

"No we're not!" Mitch slurred out. "Well, 'Cept Elmer." He kicked the sleeping boy in front of him. He was out like a light. 

She giggled some more at their expense. Butch could tell from her laugh she was beyond tipsy at this point. 

"Well anyway. I'm leaving. Don't die and Merry Christmas." 

The boys started lazily saying their goodbyes all at once and Butch watched her closely as she floated out the door and into the snowy night.

After a few minutes, or perhaps hours he wasn't sure, he stood up to leave himself. As he got on his feet however he stopped. The cheap whiskey in his belly was making itself known once more. He lurched over and puked all over the ratty carpet. 

"That was awesome!" Bubbles rubbed her arms, a swishing sound from her puffer jacket echoing into the parking lot as she did so. Tonight had been awesome. She was a little worried about inviting Boomer along at first but it had all worked out wonderfully. It's not like she didn't want to spend time with him, but she must have given him the wrong impression. They couldn’t be anything other than friends after all. 

He was obviously feeling as awkward as she was when the evening started but he seemed to relax as it went on. They even had a few dances as the bands played some more upbeat holiday songs. It wasn't awkward for her at all anymore. He was smiling again, and it seemed genuine this time. Man, she loved Christmas.

"So what do you guys wanna do now?" Mike asked, looking at his watch. It was dark outside but still a little early. "You hungry?" He asked Susie but all the other girls answered yes for her. 

"Is there even anything open on Christmas Eve?" Clara mused, furrowing her brow in thought.

"Oh! That pizza place downtown is open all year. They don't even close during monster attacks." Julie said, hugging her girlfriend's arm for warmth. 

Susie clapped her hands together. "Okay! Er. Mike where did you park again?" 

The six scanned the packed parking lot. The snow was falling heavier by the second. 

Bubbles floated casually into the air to get a better look. "Oh there! I'll get it!" 

She took off into the sky, returning after a moment holding an old yellow BMW daintily in her hands. Mike winced as she dropped it with a thump. 

"Um. Thanks, Bubbles. Let's get out of here, it's freezing." He grabbed his keys and unlocked it taking his seat up front.

"Shotgun!" Susie was already running to the passenger side door. 

The remaining four eyeballed the backseat for a moment. It was pretty cramped. 

Clara scooted inside then tapped her lap for Julie. She smiled and obliged, giggling as her girlfriend hugged her from behind when she sat down. 

Bubbles looked over to Boomer, she noticed his red cheeks. 

"Um, I'll just fly there!" She offered. Boomer shook his head at her. 

"No way! it's freezing! I'll fly there, you take the seat." 

She didn't move. "But you don't even know where it is! I can handle a little cold I'm wearing my big jacket. It'll be fine!" 

The four in the car were watching this game of courtesy with annoyance. It was far too cold for cute antics. 

"Boomer!" Clara yelled from under her girlfriend, rolling her eyes. "Bubbles can sit in your lap. Let's just go!"

The two blondes glanced at each other for a moment. Bubbles felt her face heat at the prospect. Why was she so embarrassed about it? It wasn't that big of a deal. She watched him pause for a second then stiffly take a seat and look up at her expectantly. Wait why was he being so bold about it? Oh, right. It wasn't a big deal.

She flushed a little at her own silliness and went to sit in his lap. Her giant puffer jacket seemed to suffocate the poor boy as she sat down.

"Sorry!" She took it off hastily and heard him grunt as her elbow hit his ribs. "Ah! Sorry!!" 

Bubbles frowned at her friends giggling at her expense as she closed the car door. She couldn't help it! She had never sat in a guy's lap before. She fiddled with the big jacket in her arms as Mike started the car. The warmth from the heater started blasting, though she didn’t really need it, she felt pretty warm already.

"So," Mike broke the silence, not taking his eyes off of the road. "Anyone have anything exceptionally fun planned for tomorrow?" 

"I'm just doing family stuff." Clara mumbled from behind her girlfriend.

"Ugh. My grandma is in town. I wish she'd just croak already!" Julie scoffed thinking about her own family plans. 

"Julie!" Bubbles turned her head to look at her. "That's just awful!"

Julie shrugged aggressively at her, but she was smiling. "Well, she just calls me fat every year! I hate that hag! Plus the rest of the house is always packed full of my cousins and aunts and uncles. They just snoop around all my stuff! It sucks!" 

Bubbles thought about her friend's words. She was a little jealous. She never had a packed house on Christmas. She loved her father and sisters more than anything in the world but she secretly wondered how fun it would be to have a large family to play and bicker with. The Professor was always busy these days and Blossom and Buttercup seemed to drift further apart from her more and more with each passing year. It was sometimes really lonely. 

"What about you Boomer?" Julie turned her head around to ask him. He had been quiet as a mouse. "Are you and your brothers doing anything?"

Bubbles blushed when his hot breath hit the back of her neck as he spoke. 

"Huh? Oh uh, no we don't really celebrate holidays."

"Why not?" She turned her head to the side and locked eyes with him. When they were sitting like this the height difference wasn't so dramatic and she could see him properly. His cheeks seemed to redden ever so slightly as she did so.

"I dunno." He said, turning his head to look out of the window, he could only handle so much. He was a teenage boy after all. "I guess we just never saw the appeal. Brick always said it was stupid and Butch just used it as an excuse to get extra rowdy. We don't really have any other family to see or anything either. It's just like another day for us."

Bubbles looked away from him then. Her heart was tightening at the thought. No other family. Not even a father. What would she do if she had grown up without a father to take care of her? It was unimaginable. She felt so ashamed of her jealousy of Julie before. No wonder they acted the way they did as kids. They must have felt so incredibly alone. 

The car fell silent at the awkward mood shift. No one was quite sure what to say to that. Luckily the tense silence didn’t last long as they had arrived at their destination.

"Okay!" Mike said as he cut the engine. "Let's eat!" 

They all piled out of the tiny car like a gaggle of clowns in a circus. The snow was really falling now. It sprinkled her blonde hair and the shoulders of her Christmas sweater as she departed the vehicle. 

“Race ya!” Julie took off running first, eliciting a laugh from the others as the teens all ran to match pace with her. Well, most of them anyway. 

“They sure have a lot of energy.” Boomer said, chuckling at his new friends.

“Yeah.” She didn’t mean for her voice to sound so unsteady and hoped he wouldn’t notice. He did. 

“Whoa Bubbles! What's wrong?” 

His blurry silhouette suddenly appeared before her. Her cheeks were wet and she scowled at herself. This was the third time he’s seen her cry. Now he would just think she was a crybaby.

“Sorry it’s nothing.” She looked down, frantically wiping her face with the back of her hand. “Let's just go inside.”

She jolted as a pair of large warm hands gently took her face and pulled it upwards. 

“Here.” He took the end of his shirt and began to wipe her tears, his belly out for all the world to see. 

“Are you crying cause of me?” He wiped her other eye, she noted how careful he was being. “Did I do something again?”

She opened her eyes to look up at him. The street lights illuminating from behind made his blond hair seem like a halo around his head. He truly had an angelic aura and the soft snow falling around only seemed to add to the effect. Though she knew better, she couldn’t help but think he looked like he didn’t have an ounce of evil in him right now. 

“No Boomer,” She smiled up at him softly. “I was just thinking about something silly.”

“Huh? Does silly stuff make you cry?” He furrowed his brow a little and she laughed. That confused look he got was so cute.

“Sometimes!” 

She grabbed his hands and gently lowered them. Her stomach was fluttering in excitement but her mind was clear. Despite his creation, his upbringing, and his family the boy in front of her grew up to be a kind-hearted person. She knew it deep down. She knew she wanted this all along.

“Bubbles?” He gawked at her as she slowly floated upwards to look him in the eye. 

“Merry Christmas Boomer.” She whispered, grabbing his face in her hands and planting a firm kiss on his lips. 

A small jolt of electricity flew through her entire body. This was right. She knew it was right. His lips were so soft and warm and sweet. 

She pulled away shyly and looked at his dumbfounded expression. He only stood there in stunned silence and her mind began to race. Wait a second. She realized in all her excitement she didn’t even think to ask him if he even wanted this. 

“Boomer?” 

“Man!” Her mind cleared instantly as he beamed at her and pulled her in for another embrace. “I fucking love Christmas!” 

Blossom opened the front door to her home as quietly as she could. The first part of her Christmas eve was spent at the soup kitchen, and the latter part doing patrol. Being the oldest was a pain sometimes but someone had to volunteer to do it. Crime doesn't take a night off after all.

She made her way to the still-lit fireplace. The warmth from the crackling embers was welcome. She checked her watch as she huddled close to it. It was well past midnight now.

"No not that one." 

She glanced over to the couch and smiled at her father sprawled out on it. By the looks of the papers scattered throughout the room, he had been up working late again. Guess science doesn't take a night off either.

"Professor." She floated over to him and gave him a little nudge. He was always hard to wake. She smiled at his snoring and lifted him up into her arms with ease. He didn't like when the girls carried him to bed but what he didn't know won't hurt him.

She floated up the stairs and into his room, placing him gingerly in his bed. After giving his forehead a small kiss she whispered a sweet Merry Christmas to her father. 

Closing the door behind her she made her way to her own bedroom. As she entered she noticed her sisters were already fast asleep in their beds. Bubbles was smiling sweetly holding her childhood octi plush, and Buttercup was drooling with her covers splayed on the floor. She watched them a moment and smiled to herself. They both looked like they had a nice Christmas eve. 

She made her way to her dresser to put on her nightie but paused when she saw the book on top of it. Wuthering Heights. She hadn't meant to take it with her when she left Brick's apartment before, and it was too awkward to try and return it now. Brick didn't seem like he missed it all that much anyway, he never mentioned it. Not that he had spoken to her at all since that night. She should give it back sometime soon regardless. 

She reached for it, thinking back on that night. When he lay there sleeping he didn't seem like a horrible supervillain. He just looked like a regular boy. Maybe if they had met in different circumstances they could have been friends, or at the very least colleagues. She shook her head and turned the page. All the hypothetical what-ifs in the world wouldn't change reality. He was evil, plain and simple. He was planning something and whatever that something was, it was her job to stop it. 

She closed the book and went to set it on her dresser once more but paused when a small red envelope slipped out and fell by her feet. She bent over and picked it up, turning it over. There was no address. Weird. She looked at the back of it now. The wax seal had been torn open. She bit her lip. The temptation to pry was overwhelming. 

“Blossom?” Bubbles sat up from her bed and rubbed her eyes. “What are you doing? What time is it?”

Blossom hastily put the letter back into the book and began undressing. She could worry about it in the morning. “It’s nothing Bubbles. Go back to sleep.”

She felt Bubbles watching her as she put on her nightie and floated to her side of the room. 

“Oh its past midnight! Merry Christmas Blossom!” Bubbles looked to her sleeping sister and whispered in her direction. “And you too Buttercup!” 

The two girls giggled as Buttercup let out a loud snort in her sleep.

“Good night Bubbles.” Blossom clicked the lamp on her bedside table and snuggled into her warm blankets. The contents of this new mysterious letter flashing through her mind. “Merry Christmas.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays everyone! I'm not sure if I can update next week but I will try! I hope you all have a great New Year and thank you so much for reading!


	9. Captured

Butch had been standing outside of his brother's bedroom door for a few minutes now. He was debating on knocking or not, as he wasn't in the mood to get his head chewed off so early in the morning. Brick had been horribly pissed off the past few days, almost manic actually. He hadn't seen him this frazzled in years. 

The big fight with Boomer on Christmas Eve probably had something to do with it. Boomer had come home late and declared he didn't want anything to do with this inheritance anymore but he wouldn't say why. The backlash was horrible. Or at least Butch thought it was, he was completely hammered at the time so the details were a little bit fuzzy, to say the least. Either way, they hadn't spoken to each other all week and no one seemed to want to fill him in on what the fuck was going on. Like anyone ever wanted his opinion anyway. He sighed and gave the door a tap. Guess it was up to him to have them all make up again. Man being the middle child is shit.

The only response to his tap was the sound of frantic rummaging on the other side of the door. He frowned and slammed his fist into the door as hard as he could without breaking the damn thing. Like hell he would be ignored. 

"BRICK." 

"WHAT?!" Brick flung the door open with force. He looked terrible, like he hadn't slept in days. His long hair frayed out every which way made him look like an absolute lunatic. 

"Where's Boomer?" Butch crossed his arms as his brother scoffed at him. 

"Like I fucking care where that idiot is. I have more important shit to worry about right now so kindly fuck off!" He said, or rather yelled, as he slammed the door right in his face.

Butch took a deep breath. Brick was the leader because he was the smartest, but he sure liked to waltz around like he was the strongest too. He was such an arrogant asshole. Usually, his brother was smart enough to direct his arrogance elsewhere though.

He decided he was about to remind him just who the strongest Rowdyruff was, but the phone in his pocket began to vibrate before he could obliterate the door in front of him.

He glanced down at the UNKNOWN displayed on the screen. He hoped it wasn't Susie. He had blocked her number two times already. She seemed way too attached lately and he was really not in the fucking mood for that right now. He groaned as he answered.

"What?!" 

"Oh, Sorry honey, are you busy?" A woman's sultry voice echoed in his ear from the receiver. 

His anger seemed to dissipate immediately. He knew that voice, and the small hissing around it. A goofy smile formed on his lips. 

Sedusa.

"I'm never too busy for you baby." He said as he floated his way towards his bedroom. He didn't want Brick overhearing. His brother didn't care for her too much. 

Brick had a good reason to not trust the woman. Butch had spent a fortune at the brothel she ran back in Citiesville, and done a few reckless side gigs at her request. He couldn't help it though. Her smooth skin and sensual voice always had that effect on him. Not to mention her green eyes that glistened with mischief. Green was his favorite color after all.

She had never done anything inappropriate with him, despite his endless attempts to do so. No, she wasn't interested in a boy like him, she was interested in money. Money and power. The girls working for her never seemed to mind his presence though.

"Good. I need you to do a favor for me, if you would be so sweet."

He clicked his door shut gently behind him for good measure. 

"Just name it."

"Some of my girls have been going missing the past few months. I told brick this would happen if you boys left but he wouldn't listen. I need him to come back and take care of it." 

He frowned. Brick. Why was it always about Brick? Why did no one think he could handle things alone? They were the same age and had the same powers. He was even the strongest. Now Boomer's anger towards their brother was starting to make a lot more sense. 

"Brick's busy." His tone was curt. He knew he probably sounded immature but he couldn’t help it. "I can help though."

The woman laughed wickedly at his words and his frown deepened. 

"Well fuck you! Go find help somewhere else then!" He was about to hang up but she changed her tune, her flirty voice humming in his ears once more. 

"I'm sorry Butch sweetie, it's just not the sort of thing you can handle with fists. Look, just tell Brick if he helps me with this I have some information for him. He'll want to know it."

Butch only grunted in response. What else could he say? Everyone had always treated him like a child or an untrained dog. He should be used to it by now. 

"Thank you darling. We hope to see you back here soon. The girls are so lonely without you."

He smiled again at that. The memory of those beautiful women clung to his side night after night. Their sweet laughs and soft bodies and encouraging words. Man he needed to get laid again. 

"Tell the girls not to worry their pretty tits. We'll keep em safe." 

Sedusa laughed in response to that, but it wasn't wicked this time. "Thanks, I'll be waiting."

"Who are you talking to?"

Butch jumped at the sudden appearance of his older brother. He was floating around the room, searching for something. 

"Whatever you're looking for I didn't take it." Butch spat as he hastily put the phone away. So no one was allowed in Brick’s room but he could just waltz in here whenever he wanted? Asshole.

"I didn't say you took anything. Anyway, tell me who you were talking to." Brick stopped floating then and landed on his feet, glaring at him. Butch reveled in the fact that he had to look up to do so.

“Some lady, don’t worry about it.”

“Really? Phone sex this early is a bit much.” Brick narrowed his eyes. “Anyone I know?”

Butch watched him a little longer. His brothers knew he was always bad at lying. They really loved to mock him for it growing up, but it never made sense to him. Why would you need to lie when you could just beat the shit out of anyone who doesn’t like the truth? It’s not like he was afraid of Brick anymore, so why was he lying right now?

"It was Sedusa. She-"

"I thought I told you not to talk to that whore anymore." Brick seemed to lose interest in the conversation immediately and continued scanning his eyes across the messy room. Butch felt that small itch he always got when Brick dismissed him.

"I can talk to whoever the fuck I want." 

He saw Brick pause for a moment and slowly turned his head to face him again. His shoulders bowed a little. Butch smirked down at him. If one insubordinate brother was enough to send him into such a frenzy how would he react to double the mutiny? He really wasn’t as icy and cool as he pretended to be.

"You can't and you won't." Brick hissed, "She's bad news for us and you know it. Go fuck something else."

They locked eyes a little longer. Brick was under a lot of stress but he was also a dick. A selfish asshole. There’s no way he would help those girls if it meant giving up his precious time. If Brick doesn't want to help then fine. He'll take care of it himself. He’ll even lie to do it. 

"Okay." he shrugged his shoulders up then nonchalantly put his hands in his pockets. "Think Princess Morbucks would like a good dickin'?

"I'm sure she would." Brick mused, he relaxed his shoulders in relief and smirked. "But those Citiesville whores might be cleaner than her."

"Hey! Those girls are classy, and very special friends of mine!" Butch feigned mock hurt then turned away and dug through a pile on his floor, looking for a jacket to wear. "Anyway I got plans with the guys tonight so I'm gonna go. Don't read my diary while I'm gone."

He gave his brother a tap on the shoulder as he floated past him and towards the door. 

"Butch."

He paused in the door frame. Was he really that easy to read?

"The plan is at midnight. You better fucking be there or I'll kill you myself." 

Butch could tell from the look on his face he probably really meant that. 

"Yeah Yeah." He waved a small goodbye as he made his exit. "Promise."

“Ok. Did this guy really shoot beams from his eyes or am I finally losing it?” Buttercup said as she grabbed the unconscious man by his collar and flung him into the back of a police van. 

Blossom was surveying the scorch marks all over the building in front of her, deep in thought. The past week had been completely hectic. It seemed every small-time criminal in Townsville had scurried out like rats from the shadows, with a peculiar new set of super abilities. 

“Oh! Yesterday I saw a man floating!” Bubbles chimed in from the sky, before taking in a breath and blowing out the last of the lingering flames set on the building.

The two joined their sister’s side in a flash, looking up at the destroyed building. This was like nothing they had ever seen before.

“What are you thinkin' Bloss?” Buttercup asked, not taking her eyes off of the damage.

“Well, people are popping up with superpowers but they obviously aren't as strong as ours.” Blossom chewed her lip a moment. “Seems like some kind of enhancement.”

The three waved their goodbyes to the police officer driving the van and took off skyward, doing one more quick patrol before going to meet Bellum at her office. 

“So what, you think it’s a machine?” Buttercup asked as her eyes scanned the city below. 

Blossom nodded her head a little. The criminals were searched but never had any sort of device on them. But maybe it was just something they couldn't see. “Perhaps. It could be internal. Like a nanobot?” 

Bubbles raised a brow and turned her eyes skyward. “Who do we know that could build something like that?” 

“Mojo?” Buttercup immediately responded. He was usually the culprit when it came to scientific sort of plans.

“Maybe. He has been dormant for a while now.” Blossom mused as they landed in front of city hall. 

Instantaneously news reporters were crowding the entrance clicking their cameras. The three girls shoved past them to head inside, doing their best to ignore them. The media had been having a field day with this new development. 

“Could be the boys.” Buttercup whispered matter of factly. Blossom nodded and Bubbles raised her brow in concern. She had been avoiding any mention of the Boys lately. 

"Good morning ladies. Happy new year." A police officer greeted them as the large doors closed behind them, silencing the ruckus outside. "Don't suppose you have any sorta weapons on ya?" 

The officer laughed but gave a small side glance to Buttercup. She rolled her eyes at him. 

One of the first orders from Mayor Bellum was a tighter security around city hall. She seemed to be more involved with the police than her predecessor in an attempt to ease some of the burden for the girls. Of course, with better security came more red tape and paperwork.

The officer held up a scanner. "Well, I know you don't have nothin' on ya but I still gotta search you anyway." 

"No, Sam it's fine. Come on through girls." The girls glanced up to see Mayor Bellum. She looked more disheveled than any of them had ever seen her before. "It's important."

"What is it Mayor?" Blossom asked as Sara gestured the three to take a seat in front of her desk. 

Sara Bellum paused a moment as she waited for the assistants in the room to make their exit and close the door behind them. Ever since she got the call from the Police Chief last night she had been dreading this conversation.

"Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup. I'm sure you've noticed people are popping up with powers all around the city." She glanced at the three girls, then pulled out a small vial from the top drawer of her desk and placed it in front of them tactfully. "Well, my sources tell me it may have something to do with this."

She watched the three eye it over carefully. It was dark, almost black, and thick like molasses.

"What is it?" Buttercup reached for it and held it to the light. As she turned the vial in her fingertips the substance glistened iridescently like oil spilled onto pavement. 

"We'll get to that. Now, girls, I have to ask you a very important question." Sara took a deep breath and cupped her hands together onto the desk in front of her. Firm and steady. This is the true burden of responsibility. "I need you to remember that you are Superheroes first and foremost. It's your job to help this city." 

They all raised an eyebrow to her, and reluctantly nodded their heads. They could already tell this wasn't a routine visit. 

"That vial contains a drug with trace amounts of Chemical X. We have reason to believe your father may have had a hand in its creation."

She paused and searched their expressions. Blossom seemed to understand where she was going with this immediately but whatever objections she had she kept them to herself. 

"I need to know if you have any information on his whereabouts the past few weeks, or if he has done anything out of the ordinary." She held her breath. They already had proof of his involvement. CCTV had captured him breaking into the Xcorp vault weeks ago and footage never lied. Would his children lie though?

It seemed the gears finally began to turn in the other girl's heads. Buttercup stood at once fighting ready, and Sara sighed to herself. Of course, Buttercup would defend her father to the death. She had expected as much. 

"Mayor! Our dad didn't do anything! He wouldn't!" Buttercup's tone was like acid. But of course it was. This was a serious accusation. It could put her father away for a long time. 

She glanced at Blossom, who took the vial from her sister's grasp and twirled the liquid around tenderly. She was biting her lip, and Sara knew that meant she was placing together pieces no one else seemed to even consider part of the puzzle. The girl was bright but was she honest? Would the love for her family outweigh her sense of justice?

"So you don't think he had any involvement then? Does he have an alibi? I want you to understand that this is a very serious situation. People have died from overdose already." 

"He's always at work! At Xcorp!" Buttercup was really fuming now. "How dare you accuse him o-" 

"We have proof." 

All three girls looked up at that. The room had gone so still the sound of the heater hummed through her ears. As she looked at their bewildered faces she felt her heart ache for them. So they really didn't know anything. 

Buttercup leered over the desk to look her directly in the eye. Sara had always thought the girl had the eyes of a cat ready to pounce on its prey, though she never would have dreamed the blood lust would be directed at her. 

"Miss Bellum." Blossom interjected, she always knew her sister well. "Please show us the proof." 

"Very well." She watched them a moment longer then pulled a laptop out of her desk drawer.

She turned it on and pulled up the footage, tapping the space bar to start the video and turning the screen to face them. She watched their expressions closely, looking for an ounce of dishonesty. Of course she didn't find any. They looked as devastated as she felt when she saw the evidence herself. She mulled it over hundreds of times. Professor Utonium enters at 7 pm, casually puts in the key code then exits the building with a suitcase containing a large quantity of Chemical X. It was the perfect crime. Who would question what the inventor of the PowerPuff girls would do with Chemical X?

"This doesn't prove anything." Buttercup plopped down into her seat and put her hands up behind her head in fake nonchalance. "Taking chemical X isn't illegal."

"Yeah!" Bubbles said, glancing at Blossom who was tapping the space bar to watch the footage again. "Professor always keeps a little bit at home for us in case of emergencies." 

Sara sighed at their stubbornness. It was true. Chemical X in and of itself wasn't illegal in small quantities, but what he took was an absurd amount. She knew it and the girls knew it too.

"I know this is hard for you, and believe me I didn’t want to arrest him but-"

"You arrested him?!" Buttercup roared, jumping to her feet once more and slamming a hand down so hard onto the desk it splintered the thick mahogany.

After a short bout of stunned silence Sara stood as well. They may be superheroes but they were still only teenagers. The blatant disrespect was getting to her. Surely they knew how this made them look?

"-BUT we already have him in custody. If he is innocent then it will all work out fine. Now." She slammed the laptop shut in front of her. "The police wanted to take you into questioning but I insisted I do it myself because you three are doing so much for us. You do understand that can change if you go meddling don't you?" 

"We understand mayor." Blossom had a coolness to her voice. Sara knew she knew something but getting it out of her would be impossible at this point. 

"Great." She hit the buzzer on her desk and a young man entered the office immediately. He looked incredibly nervous at the tension in the room. "I know your father is your only legal guardian, but I trust you three can take care of yourselves as we get this all sorted out, right?"

"Of course Mayor. Please call us about any developments." Blossom said stiffly and began walking to the exit. Bubbles and Buttercup exchanged a frustrated glance to their leader but followed her without another word. She always knew best. 

"I will. And girls?" 

Sara watched the three turn to face her in the door frame. They seemed completely and utterly betrayed. 

"I'm so sorry." 

Boomer looked down from his spot on top of the skyscraper and onto the city skyline. He had been flying for hours now. Though he had no destination in mind. He wished his head was as clear as everyone seemed to think it was. For the first time in his life, it seemed to be full of worries.

He rubbed his sore shoulder. Brick had beaten him senseless on Christmas Eve and he was only now healing from it. Not that he cared. He was going to stand by his decision no matter what his brothers thought. If his new girlfriend was good, he was going to be good too. Well, he was going to try. 

He couldn't believe he had his first real girlfriend. The thought of it being Bubbles Utonium was even more unbelievable, but why was that so bad? It was stupid to hold a grudge from when they were all five years old, and he suspected his brothers felt the same way deep down. After all, they had forgotten the girls even existed for a decade. If it wasn’t for their father they wouldn’t even be here right now. He sighed a little thinking of what was to come. The fight with the girls was tonight. It was pointless. Butch knew it and he knew it but Brick was so stubborn sometimes. And selfish.

Boomer sat down, swaying his feet off of the ledge and kicking them back and forth mindlessly. Brick's not going to control everything anymore, and he sure as hell won't hurt Bubbles to get what he wants. He couldn’t turn back now. No way.

"We s-ssure got a good bounty this-s time huh Ace?" 

He cocked his head to eavesdrop. Sometimes spying on others with super hearing could be a fun way to distract yourself. He always did like gossip.

"Yeah Yeah. That was a pretty stupid stunt you fellas pulled though. Thought I told ya to lay low. Things are bout to get real rowdy round here if ya know what I mean."

"After tonight we ain't gotta worry bout no more supers in this city aye boss?"

"That's right fellas! It'll be easy sailin' once them little girls n boys is dead."

Boomer's entire body stiffened. Girls AND Boys? 

He scowled and stood up trying to focus on the conversation. He closed his eyes and strained his ears, canceling out the hubbub of the city until he locked on to the source and took off faster than even he knew was possible.

"The fuck?"

The cement below his feet indented as he landed in a flash in front of a gang of green men in an alleyway. They gawked and looked around frantically for a long second, but there was no chance for them to escape, as he was blocking the only exit. 

"Well, Well, Well. If it ain't a Rowdyruff in the flesh!" The skinny one with sunglasses was the first one to regain his composure. He shoved his hands into his pockets and smirked in his direction. If he was concerned he hid it pretty well. "An' to what do we owe this pleasure?" 

Boomer racked his brain, he knew the gang of green men from somewhere, but he couldn't seem to place their names. From what he could see in the shadowed alley there were five of them. The largest one furthest in the back holding a wad of cash looked particularly strong. He steadied his footing. 

"Not talkin' huh?" The man took a cigarette from his vest pocket and lit it, peering over his sunglasses as he did so. "Hey, wait a second! Ain’t you the stupid one? What's wrong dipshit? You get lost or somethin’?" 

Boomer scowled as the gang in front of him all laughed. These guys were either really strong or really stupid to laugh in his face. He may not be brawny like Butch or clever like Brick but he was still powerful. Maybe it was time to show them what it meant to be a Rowdyruff Boy. 

The man’s posture only seemed to get more arrogant as his little gang guffawed behind him. "Where's ya big bad brothers? They tell you to go fetch some eggs to get rid of ya?"

"Uh-oh Ace I think he's mad!" The short one pointed and the group laughed harder.

"Mad?" The man, Ace, took another drag of his cigarette then threw his hands up in mock exasperation. "He don't even know what I'm sayin'.” Boomer felt his blood boil as Ace pointed his long green finger his way. “ARE. YA. LOST. DUMBASS?" 

In an instant Boomer's hand was around his throat, bolts of electricity flew all around them lighting up the alleyway, making his hair stand on end. Smoke wheezed out from every orifice of the man's face as his grip tightened. Boomer grinned down at him. So he wasn’t strong. That meant he was very, very stupid.

"Ace was it?"

Ace clawed at his neck, and nodded, his already green face seemed to darken from the lack of oxygen. The others cowered behind him, not even trying to come to his rescue. 

"I think I am a little lost. Maybe you can help me get to where I need to go."

The three girls sat in silence in their childhood home. No one had spoken since leaving the mayor’s office and Bubbles’ mind couldn’t stop racing. Her father could be a dangerous criminal. But that was simply impossible. So who else could have done this?

She watched her two sisters pacing in front of her from her spot on the couch. Back and forth back and forth. No one had even thought to turn the light on. The glow from the setting sun beamed in through the window just enough to see their frantic silhouettes. Everyone was afraid to speak first but she could tell Buttercup might break soon. She was right.

“This was a setup. Someone did it. THEY did it!”

Bubbles held back tears. She and Boomer had only become official a little over a week ago. He wouldn’t have lied right? He wouldn’t hurt her like this, right?

“Butch came over here that night! I bet he was scanning the place. He went into the fucking lab!“

“Buttercup.” Blossom's voice was as commanding and steady as ever. Even Bubbles thought her calculated facade was annoying. Especially at a time like this. It was ok to show fear sometimes. “I don’t think the professor did this either, but we can’t rule out other villains as well. It could be anyone.”

“You just don’t want to admit you were wrong!” 

Bubbles flinched as she saw Blossom’s frame turn rigid. Here it comes. One of their fights. Right on cue. 

“YOU were the one who saved Brick! Our worst fucking enemy! YOU were the one who brought our helpless father to them! You should have let that fucking asshole DIE!”

“And that’s what you would have done?!” Blossom's voice was raised now. Both of their eyes illuminated just enough to emit a faint glow into the dark room. “Some hero you are Buttercup, talking about killing people! And what about Butch huh?!”

Buttercup seemed to recoil from just the mention of his name. “What about him?!”

Blossom planted her hands on her hips. Her signature move when she was about to degrade someone. “You are always hanging around him! Is that for surveillance or is something else going on? Oh, and I know you fought him on Halloween! Why did you disobey my orders?”

“Your orders.” Buttercup threw her head back and laughed bitterly. Bubbles felt goosebumps tingle across her arms. 

“How dare I, a lowly pile of dog shit disobey the perfect genius Blossom fucking Utonium. Yes, I fought him. And I tried to kill him too. I tried to crack his neck and break all his fingers and cut him open from his belly to his neck and pull his guts out little by little.” She lowered her voice, making her tone even darker. “When I see the rest of them I’m gonna do what we should have done when they first got here.”

“Stop!” Bubbles couldn’t take anymore. This was too much. Despite her best effort to hold her tears she began to cry. She hated when Buttercup got that glint in her eye. She hated when Blossom treated both of them like children who needed to be protected. And right now, she might just hate Boomer too.

“Now look what you’ve done!” Blossom hovered to her side in an instant. “You are sick Buttercup! I don’t know what’s happened to you. Are you even my sister anymore?”

Buttercup turned away from them and crossed her arms. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Bubbles watched her sister sigh and plop down next to her. She looked so utterly defeated. Like she didn’t even have the strength to argue anymore.

“These past few months you’ve gotten so violent, so angry. I wonder if it’s my fault. Maybe I’ve pushed you too far away from me.” She pat Bubbles on the shoulder. “That goes for you too Bubbles. If I had been more diligent Boomer never would have taken advantage of your kindness. I’m so sorry. Really.”

“Right.” Buttercup seemed perplexed by the tonal shift but calmed herself the best she could and turned to look down at her blonde sister. “Bubbles, I’ve been meaning to bring this up for months now. We need to talk about Boomer.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” She sniffled then straightened her brow. She didn’t want to cry anymore. Enough was enough.

She heard Blossom sigh beside her. “It's obvious you two have a thing going on Bubbles. We need to know how serious this really is, if he told you anything-”

“And if he hurt you in any way!” Buttercup added, stomping over and taking the empty seat to her right.

Even in the dimly lit room Bubbles felt both of their eyes searching her. She felt so stupid but strangely protective all at once. Brick and Butch may have planned something like this but Boomer didn’t. He couldn’t have.

“We had our first kiss on Christmas Eve, you know?” She sighed a little wistfully. “His lips were so soft and sweet.” She waited for them to interject but they just sat in silence, intently listening. 

She fiddled with her hands in her lap. “We talked on the phone almost every day since he moved here. Nothing incriminating just learning about each other. But when we kissed I felt such a jolt through my whole body, like nothing I've felt before.” she turned her head towards her right. “You know what I mean don’t you Buttercup?”

“Huh?” Even in the now completely dark room, the girls could tell what kind of face their sister was making. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Bubbles smiled to herself. Her sister was so cute sometimes. “Well cause you’re in love too, aren't you?”

Of course, she didn't know who her sister was in love with, but she saw the way she carried herself now. The late phone calls, the sneaking out, the secrecy. She had even caught her playing with some of Blossom's makeup one night. 

She waited for an outburst of sorts, or for Buttercup to deny it profusely. Instead, her sister simply stood and stretched her arms high above her head.

"I'm going on patrol."

After a pause of stunned silence Blossom stood as well. "But tonight's my night. Besides I don't think splitting up is a good idea right now."

Buttercup didn't seem to hear her as she made her way to the front door.

"Buttercup!" Blossom's voice sounded pleading. "Don't do anything brash. Please."

The two watched their sister slam the door behind her without a response.

Brick looked around at the brightly lit streets of the city. It was starting to look more like Citiesville by the day. He smirked bitterly to himself. He did always have the talent of turning something sweet into something disgusting. That’s just his nature. Their nature.

“Help!”

He glanced across the street to see a few goons beating a helpless man with their newfound super strength. He rolled his eyes and kept walking. Even though this drug was his idea he couldn’t help but feel disgusted seeing it used in action. Those fools looked like little monkeys doing a dance with sticks. They could never even imagine what real power was.

He flung his ponytail over his shoulder and pulled up his hood. Those bitches could be anywhere and he couldn’t risk being seen.

“Helloooooo.”

Brick paused mid-step for just a moment but kept walking. He knew he would hear from HIM soon.

“Are you just going to ignore me? Hmm?”

“I can’t exactly walk down the street talking to myself.” Brick spat. He didn’t know why his pace quickened, he could never outrun his father.

“Well I suppose that’s true. Tonight’s the big night, isn’t it? But it seems you lost something pretty important didn’t you?”

He didn’t respond to that. He didn’t need to.

“You know that letter held all the formal documents riiiiight? And you just let it slip through your sweet soft little fingers? How irresponsible! I expected better from you.”

“I’ll get it back.” Brick noticed two people stare at him as he passed, but he kept his pace steady. He felt his rage boil as his father laughed in his ears. That letter had the Will inside, and it wasn’t notarized yet.

“That bitch took it.” He whispered as he turned a corner of a busy street. “Or your other precious little son did.”

“Ah, my sweet baby Boomer. Such a little trouble maker.”

Brick’s head began to thump with every step he took. Like a loud tick of a clock that turned into a boom of a canon with each stride. The noise was so loud and grating he was starting to lose track of his surroundings.

“Say, Cain, would you kill Abel if your father asked you to?”

The sound roared in his ears, or rather straight from his brain. It was unbearable.

“Shut the fuck up!”

Brick couldn’t take the pounding anymore and dropped to his knees in the middle of the crowded sidewalk, clutching his ears. He thought his eardrums might burst at any moment.

“Shut up! Shut the fuck up!”

All at once the sound stopped and a small ringing was left in its stead. He let out a sigh of relief. His father's voice was gone.

A new sound filled his ears now, however. A gaggle of idiots circling him and chattering. Shit. He had attracted a crowd.

“Need a little help there sonny?”

He forced his eyes up just enough to see the unmistakable color of dark navy police trousers. Shit.

The old officer put his hand down to help him up. His mind was reeling. Morbucks was expecting him in an hour, he had no time to get arrested. He had to think of a way out of this situation and fast.

“Sorry, um, thanks.” Brick took his hand, intending to bolt the second he was on his feet. “I was just-“

He paused when he felt a small prick penetrate his skin. Cold began rushing from his fingertips up his arm. He couldn't help but let out a small gasp. He knew this feeling.

“Why don’t you come with me boy.”

The old officer smirked down at him. Brick tried to stand and fly but his legs simply wouldn’t move. He glared at the man in front of him as everything went dark.

“I’ll take ya on home.”

The room was hot and loud, dozens of men gathered at the brothel to kick off the start of a new year in the arms of a lady. Most of the girls were gathered around a particular boy, however. He was passing out stacks of cash like it was nothing more than chump change. Though the empty liquor bottles around him might have something to do with it.

“I sure missed you girls.” Butch slurred out, grabbing handfuls of this and that while he did so. The ladies didn’t seem to mind it. The lecherous boy was always welcome if his pockets were full.

“We missed you too honey.” A raven-haired woman said, giving his cheek a little squeeze. “It's been such a long time! What brought you back to us after so long?”

“Oh. Right.” Butch stood up abruptly, accidentally knocking the girls in his lap straight to the ground in the process. He had totally forgotten about Sedusa. Maybe she was right to ask for Brick before.

“Sorry ladies,” he waved a small goodbye to their pouting faces. “I got some business to attend to.”

He didn’t need to be told where her office was. He had been to it many times. Though he must have been more inebriated than he thought as he was having trouble finding it. He stumbled down a quiet hallway and frowned. Why do you never truly feel drunk until you stand up?

He heard a “scuse’ me” as he bumped into a man in the dark corridor and paused. It was familiar.

“Hey man." He tossed his head around and rested his hand on the wall to steady himself. The floor under him was spinning. "Do I know you from somewhere?” 

“We've met before.” The man turned around and smiled at him, revealing a golden tooth. “I'm Tex.”

Butch’s brain began to rattle. Even in his drunken state, he was positive this was the guy who spoke to Buttercup on the phone before. Why in the hell she was talking to a guy in a brothel he wasn’t so sure about though.

He stood up straight then, to appear as sober as he possibly could, and bowed his shoulders. 

“Yeah? Where’d we meet Tex?”

“I’ve seen you round the fighting ring sometimes.” Tex scoffed, then reached into his pocket to grab a smoke. “Though it figures you wouldn’t remember a guy like me.”

Butch frowned. He didn't like this guy's tone. “And what kinda guy are you like?”

“Well, the kind to say excuse me when I bump into someone.” He exhaled, and Butch coughed a little as the smoke went towards his face.

This cocky asshole. Wait. The fighting ring. Of course.

“So how come such a polite guy like you is fucking Buttercup Utonium?” If a man in a brothel was also banging a superhero he was probably a narc. That’s the only thing that made sense.

“Woah, slow down buddy!” As Tex approached him and flung an arm around his shoulder, Butch noticed the man was taller than him. He sure was a lot skinnier though. “I never put a hand on that girl. We were just business partners of sorts. She ain’t as innocent as you might think.” He dropped his voice a little, and Butch felt him place a hand firmly on the back of his neck. “Well, I reckon you know that already though, don’t you?”

Butch looked over at him once more. He decided he didn’t like this guy or his skeevy aura. What made him think he could touch him anyway.

"How the fuck would I know that?" 

"Well! I know for a fact you been botherin’ her day in and day out. Weaslin' your way in with her little friends." He leaned in closer, their faces almost touching. "You ain't gonna hurt that little darling are ya? See she makes me a lot of money." Butch flinched a little as a small prick went into the back of his neck. "And see Butch, I really do like my money."

Butch felt it. The small quake in his fingertips. The ache in his cheeks from grinning so hard. This man really thought he was going to threaten him. Now he was going to beat him to death.

"Butch?!"

The two men turned their heads to see Sedusa. Tex loosened his grasp and gave her a polite nod before treading down the hallway. He seemed to be in a hurry all of a sudden. 

"Sedusa!" Butch could still feel himself grinning. He held out his arms and wobbled towards her but she put her hand up to his chest to stop him.

"Butch! Where the hell is Brick?!" Her tone splashed his heart like acid. 

He pouted a little. She couldn't even pretend to be happy to see him.

"Brick had previous arrangements." He shrugged his shoulders and winked down at her. "So he sent me instead."

"Like I fucking believe that." She scoffed and turned around, gesturing for him to follow. "I guess I'll take what I can get."

"Baby you wound me!" He roared as he quickened his pace to match hers. 

He fumbled around in silence beside her down the dark corridor for what felt like hours. He became drunker by the second. The clack of her heels echoed in his ears like a metronome. She suddenly stopped and turned to look at him. Her green eyes were dazzling in the dim light. 

"Keep up! Wait, you alright sweetie?"

Her acidic tone shifted to a worried one. He only smiled at her and his eyelids felt like lead. 

In a blur he felt her take his face into her soft hands. He felt his chest tighten as the already dim room began to darken even more. Why did he suddenly feel so cold?

"You should have sent Brick like I told you to." She tutted and put a soft hand to his forehead. 

"Boys never listen." 

"She should have been back by now."

Blossom bit her lip and turned her eyes to the hotline in her hand. Buttercup was notorious for doing short patrols, and she had left the house nearly two hours ago.

"She's probably fine." Bubbles said flatly as she scribbled into her sketchbook from her spot on the bed. 

Blossom sighed at her sister's tone. She had been giving her a lecture for some time but eventually gave up, knowing it was just going into one ear and out the other. The two had been sitting in their room in strained silence for a while now. She still couldn't believe Bubbles' supposed love for the enemy. Even she couldn't be that naive.

"I'm going to look for her." Blossom stood stiffly and went to the closet to fetch her coat. "Will you be okay by yourself?" 

"No, I'll die without you here!" Bubbles spat, not taking her eyes off of her angry doodling. 

Blossom didn't respond. She knew there was no getting through to her when she was like this. Bubbles could be more stubborn than Buttercup when she was angry.

“Ok. Well, call me if you need anything.”

She gave her sister one more long look before opening the window and taking off into the night sky.

She shivered as the cold air passed by, freezing on her cheeks. Having ice powers meant that winter was always especially hard, but the anxiety in her chest was keeping her warm.

Her father was in prison. There was no way the professor stole that Chemical X on his own accord. Either the footage was doctored or he was pressured to do it. Either way, she would get to the bottom of it.

She paused mid-flight and looked down at the looming fortress below her. Somehow she had ended up at the Townsville penitentiary. It would be so easy. Just smash through the wall and break him out. She frowned a little and shook her head. Hopefully, Buttercup hadn’t thought of that already.

The frigid air fluttered around her as she lowered herself in front of the large gates. She had to see him. She had to hear it from him. 

A loud buzzer echoed as the gates rattled open. The chief was already standing there casually and by the looks of the other officers around him, it seemed they had been anticipating the visit.

“Blossom.”

She frowned a little at his usual cheerful demeanor. He didn’t seem the least bit sorry about having her father locked away in a prison cell.

“I suppose you know why I’m here sir.” She let her shoulders straighten and her chin raise high. These men could never intimidate her. She had to play this right. Play the part of the fearless unmovable leader of the PowerPuff Girls.

“Yes of course,” The chief put a hand on his neck. “but you see we have strict orders from the Mayor. Professor Utonium is to have no visitors.”

Her stomach flopped. Why was miss Bellum doing this? She had known the family for years. They would never turn on the city.

The disappointment in her heart must have crept through her features because after a moment the chief let out a heavy sigh and cocked his head to gesture her through.

She paused for a second then steadied her features once more as she stepped forward, past the group of men.

“Now don’t you tell anyone about this!” The chief half chuckled as he stomped beside her. “I’m only a few years away from retirement and I don’t need to get fired now.”

“Thank you for your kindness.” She tried to sound as genuine as she could. It was hard to play the polite girl when all she wanted to do was tear this entire building down. She watched the spotlights circling the ground beside them. It was strange. None of the lights ever seemed to hit her path. The warden was also mysteriously absent. She shivered again as a breeze flew by. Something was off.

His belly jiggled as he laughed loudly. “Think nothing of it. I won’t forget what you girls did for this city! My job was so easy because of you.”

She stopped in her tracks and the men around her stopped as well. She was suddenly keenly aware of the tension in their shoulders. Their fingers were at the holsters on their hips.

She slowly brought her eyes back to the Chief of police. Mayor Bellum's word's from that morning began to echo in her ears. Past tense. Unlike Sara, this man used past tense. “You mean, your job _is_ easy because of us?”

The fat jolly man's demeanor completely changed as he stood stiff as a board in front of her. The realization hit her. She had never thought to ask for his name.

“Ah.” The chief turned around to face her. His sudden mood shift made her already cold body shiver even more. “Slip of the tongue.”

All at once an excruciating jolt hit her back, then another from her side, then one more final blow from directly in front of her. She looked down at the thick needle penetrating her stomach, then up at the man who had put it there.

“You’ve always been too clever for your own good girl.” The chief’s fuzzy silhouette spat as he lowered the now empty chamber of his strange gun. The men around her all gasped as she shot out one quick beam before collapsing onto the cold concrete below her. As her vision faded she heard the warbled voice of the man behind the espionage. 

“Hurry you idiots! Take her to Smith!”


	10. Sunrise

So warm. 

Blossom's head was spinning as she slowly faded back into consciousness. This feeling on her back was so so warm. Like the sun's rays on a summer day. She let it envelop her body, soaking in the comfort. 

That comfort was fleeting however, as a sudden ache from her wrists brought her fully back into consciousness. Her stomach did a somersault inside of her as the memories came flooding back. Where exactly was she? How long had she been here? She fluttered her heavy eyelids open, though it didn't do any good. The room was pitch black. 

She strained her eyes, trying to summon X-ray vision, heat-ray beams, anything. It was no use. Her powers were almost completely gone. In a moment of abject horror, she suddenly realized the enticing warmth at her back was alive and breathing. She lunged forward to get away but it was instantly clear the two were bound tightly together. Her ears were filled with the sound of a grunt, then a familiar voice. 

"Finally awake sweetheart? Have a good rest?"

His voice sounded more than a little irritated. Though she surmised he had a good reason for it. How long had he been sitting here in the dark tied up with her? 

"Brick?" She couldn't hide the disbelief in her voice. He was the last person she expected to be bound to. "What's going on? Where are we?"

He clicked his tongue at her. As if she were stupid for even asking such a question. 

"In my own personal hell, I presume."

Her panic was turning more into annoyance by the second. He's really being sarcastic in a situation like this? Did his arrogance have no bounds? 

She jerked her head forward a little, if only to distance herself from him slightly. "Really cute Brick, truly. Very mature of you. And if you call me sweetheart one more time I'll send you through another wall." 

She smirked as she heard his scoff echo through the eerily quiet room. After a moment she realized he didn't seem like he was making any sort of effort to get out of their peculiar situation. That could only mean one thing.

She turned her head slightly to the side, the two were bound so tightly together her hair brushed against his as she did so. "Are your powers gone too?"

"No,” He replied bitterly, “I just enjoy being tied up to the most insufferable girl on planet earth in my free time."

Now came her turn to scoff. It was obvious she wouldn't get any viable information out of him. She turned her head back around and chewed her lip, trying to recall the events of the day. 

She was careless. She let her guard down. The chief of police did this to her. A man who had never even crossed her radar. The police also had custody of her father and who knows what they were doing to him. Buttercup was missing and Bubbles was at home all alone. Her heart filled with worry for her family, then that worry slowly bubbled into anger. She couldn't believe she let herself be duped by such a cretinous man. Her! Blossom Utonium! Did Miss Bellum know about this? The two were known for being close colleagues. Was she in on it?

She paused a moment, remembering the small vial sitting in her pocket. She hadn’t meant to take it from the Mayor's office. Accidental thievery was a bad habit of hers lately it seemed. She took a breath to steady her nerves. Now seemed like as good of a time as any to ask.

"That Chemical X drug. Was that your doing?"

"Yeah."

She blinked a few times, completely taken aback by his blunt honesty. Her anger only grew. How could he be so nonchalant about it? He sent her father to prison! Or worse! 

"So you framed the Professor!" She spat. "I can't believe this. That’s so low, even for you Brick!"

A comically long pause filled the room. She waited, then waited some more. A response, a quip, anything. Instead, she felt him tap his thumb up and down repeatedly behind her. She had been around him long enough to know what that little quirk meant. Unbelievable. He didn’t even remember doing it.

"Professor Utonium. My father. Remember? He saved your life?!"

"What?" She felt his shoulders jerk up sharply behind her. "I didn't frame him!"

A loud huff escaped her lips. Yeah right.

"Hiss all you want but it's true. I'm a bad guy but I’m not a savage. I remember when someone does me a favor."

"Oh Really?!” She bellowed as she snapped her head in his direction. “You sure didn’t remember the favor I did for you!" 

She flinched a little at her own words. She didn't mean to shout that loud. The anxiety about her family, her situation, the betrayal. It was all really sinking in. She tried to stop herself from shaking. Now was not the time to show weakness. Not in front of him.

"I didn't forget it."

His words echoed in her ears. She shifted a little as a heavy silence fell between them. It didn't last long, however, as they were no longer alone.

The two squinted as a door opened, flooding the pitch-black room with light. A silhouette carefully walked forward, looming in the door frame, holding something in his arms. Some seven men stood behind him. Blossom took in a breath when she realized they were in police uniforms.

A loud click echoed and she blinked fervently for a moment as a blinding light seared into her eyes. Once her vision returned she had to blink a few more times. She couldn't believe who she was seeing.

She hadn't seen this man in over a decade, yet there he stood, holding a cat and looking eerily placid. 

“Hello Blossom. Heh, It sure has been a while hasn’t it?”

“Mr. Smith?” She asked as she rose a brow. She was expecting, well, she didn’t know what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t her old neighbor. That cat looked awfully familiar too, but that was simply impossible.

He grinned down at her and began to stroke the fat white cat nestled comfortably in his arms.

“Oh, you do remember me then? Good. That’s good.”

Blossom pulled her eyes away from the villains in front of her and took in her surroundings. Below her sat a metal floor, and surrounding her wasn't a wall, but in fact a giant metal dome. 

"Smith! You fucking weasel! You think you can fuck with me and get away with it?!" 

Brick suddenly lunged forward, attempting to charge the man and take her along for the ride, but their ropes were bound too tightly and they both landed hard onto the metal floor with a thud. 

“Well boy,” Smith emphasized the word boy, and beamed down at the two. “I believe I have already gotten away with it.”

Blossom peered into the back of the man’s bald head as he let out a laugh and paced towards the dome barrier, stopping in front of it to give it a couple of taps. 

“Isn’t this contraption wonderful? Ah shhh!” Smith held a finger to his lips. “Do you hear that? Listen.”

Wait, contraption? She pressed her head down onto the metal and strained her ears. She couldn't hold back her gasp as she heard a loud hum echoing beneath her. 

"Gasp is right Blossom! You're a clever girl, have you figured it out already?" 

Her mind began reeling. She thought of physics class. It couldn’t be.

"A Van de Graaff generator?!"

"Bingo! Good job Blossom!" Smith's voice rang out as he put his hand to his face in mock admiration. “Ahhh. Isn't that hum relaxing? It’s like music to my ears! And we only need a little more time, then you brats are done! Do you know what that means for me?” 

The question was apparently rhetorical, as he threw his fist upwards and continued without awaiting a response. 

"With Morbucks and Utonium out of the way, I hold all the Chemical X in this city! ME! Oh, the things I’ll do… oh, I won’t stop at this pitiful city. I’ll-l'll.”

Smith’s maniacal laugh filled the room but was soon joined by a bitter one coming from beside her. 

She felt a sudden chill watching his shadow loom over her as he slowly approached. The man looked exceptionally menacing now. Far more so than she remembered from her childhood. 

“What’s so funny boy?”

“What a stupid pile of shit.” Brick’s tone was lethal. Blossom couldn't help but shrink back a little at the sound of it. She had never heard his voice sound that way before. He was like another person and quite frankly, it was a little unnerving.

“You think you can take down my brothers? Butch?! Please. He’ll have your head delivered to me on a silver platter by sunrise. You weakling shit humans are all dead!”

The strained silence in the room only made the loud electric hum from the floor below her all the louder. She gasped as Smith wordlessly slammed his loafer hard directly onto Brick’s head. 

“Listen to me boy. I’m not worried about your little dog of a brother. In fact,” She winced when Smith reared up then slammed his foot down again, the sound it made on impact was horrible. “I have reason to believe Butch is already dead.”

She felt Brick slump beside her. No way. Her mind was reeling now. What about her family?

Smith raised his foot, looking pleased with the boy's shocked face. "Well, I'll leave you two for now. I suppose this is goodbye." 

He turned towards the exit but stopped right in front of it and snapped his fingers. "Oh! I almost forgot! Silly me. Bring her in!"

It was her turn to slump in shock as more officers entered and threw an unconscious Bubbles carelessly in front of her. Blossom could only hope she was just unconscious anyway, as her sister looked like she was hanging on to her life by a thread.

"There we go. Just two more brats left." Smith waved a small goodbye as he trailed behind the armed men. "You children behave now!"

Buttercup scowled her signature frown as she scoured the city below her in a panic.

When she arrived home it was completely dark and empty, and it looked like a hurricane had blown through it. It was totally trashed, and to top it all off neither of her sisters responded to their hotlines or cells.

Her first instinct was, of course, to go to their home. To his home. She knew in her gut they were behind it, but the Rowdyruff residence was also completely abandoned. She knew that for a fact, since she had ripped it apart herself.

The thought of asking the mayor for help was also out of the question. The police refused to even allow her entry and said it was on Bellum’s own orders.

She could never admit it aloud but she had never felt so alone. The city had turned on her once before, but at least her sisters were at her side then. Her heart clenched at the possibility of living this way without them forever. Before she could dwell on those dark thoughts a second longer she saw it. A dark streak of blue flashed before her eyes, and in that instant, her panic turned into boiling rage.

“Buttercup!”

She halted faster than even she knew was possible. His stupid face was twisted up in its own panic. Good. He should be afraid of her.

“Where are they?”

She saw him wince at her tone. God, she wanted to rip him apart limb from limb, but that had to wait. Finding her sisters was the top priority right now.

She flinched as he was right in front of her in a millisecond. He was fast. Really fucking fast.

“Where’s Bubbles?! Did they get to her?”

“Did who get her?!” She couldn’t help it, she was screaming now. His feigned ignorance only made her want to kill him more. Was he taunting her? Did he have a death wish?

“So they already have her?!” Boomer looked even more frantic than before, if it was possible. “We gotta go! Now!”

He grabbed her arm and started to drag her through the night air. She was so caught off guard by his boldness it took her a long second to fire a beam right into his face.

“Shit!” He dropped her from his grip to clutch his now charred cheek.

“Where did you take them?!” She reared up her fist to give him a blow to the stomach but he dodged it with ease.

“Buttercup we don’t have time for this! Our siblings could die! Or be dead already!”

She froze, and her rage dissipated and resurfaced as panic for just a moment, then anger took over once again. He was playing with her.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?” She rushed to land a hit on his side but he simply flew around it. This dance was getting annoying. This rat wouldn’t get away.

“I know- stop trying to punch me!- I know where they are! I'll take you there!”

“Like I fucking believe that!” Her voice quivered but it wasn’t from fear. She was so enraged her entire body was shaking.

“I’m done wasting time here! Follow me or don’t!”

He burst away in a flash of blue, and before she could even blink he was just a speck in the distance. This had to be a trap but she had no choice now. She had to catch him and beat the answers out of him.

The chase was short and she was glad for it. It was quite a struggle to even match pace with him. Thankfully he arrived at his destination, a now evacuated supermarket.

As She landed onto the abandoned parking lot with a thud every ounce of rage she felt backflipped and doubled into pure confusion at what, or rather who, stood in front of her.

“Okay. What the fuck.”

She looked to Boomer who strolled towards the men gathered in a line, each of them taking in a dose of the strange drug that had been a source of turmoil for her the past few days. Stranger yet, they were assisted by a handful of police officers. One of whom she knew and cared for personally. Deputy Perez Sanchez.

“Perez?”

“Buttercup!” The young Hispanic officer rolled down his shirt sleeve as he hastily approached her. “I’m so glad you’re here. We need all the help we can get.”

“Ok hang on.” She pinched the bridge of her nose to ease her rapidly approaching headache. “What are you doing here? With them? What’s going on?”

“It’s bad Buttercup. Half the force had gone turncoat on us, and Smith has walked himself straight into city hall. We don’t even know if Bellum is alive.”

Smith? She racked her brain. It suddenly hit her like a freight train. Harold Smith? Did he just say Harold Smith was behind all of this?

Her eyes fell to her shoes as she tried to process this information. A usurped police force, a possibly dead mayor, a father in custody and missing sisters. A powerful sense of dread fell on her shoulders as she worked up the courage to ask the question that had plagued her thoughts all night.

“My sisters?”

Her stomach lurched when she saw his face fall.

“We didn’t know anything about that until Boomer found us. The gangreen gang says Smith has been building some contraption on the outskirts of the city. I’m sorry, it looks like he has them.”

“Not for long.”

Boomer walked towards her, gang of green men following close behind. Even in this situation she couldn’t help but admire his tenacity. Though his voice was a little shaky.

“Hey, Buttercup. How you been baby?”

She flushed slightly and ignored the gang's leader then directed her attention to Boomer. He looked more than ready to get out of there.

She couldn’t trust him. Not really. But what other choice did she have?

She sighed heavily. Whatever happens, happens. She had to save them and they were running out of time.

Boomer gave her a final nod and they both took off skyward in a flash of green and blue.

Butch isn't dead.

Brick played that phrase in his brain over and over like a mantra to steady his nerves.

He tapped his thumb to his index finger repeatedly. There had to be a way out of this. Panicking never got you anywhere.

It felt like they had been sitting in this dome for hours. It took some time, and a bit of yelling, to sit themselves back up again but they had managed it. He turned his head towards her direction. Blossom had been silent for a while now, watching her sister's chest rise and fall with intent. He had to admit it didn't look good, but saying that out loud wouldn't help their situation. She must have noticed him looking since she finally broke the long silence.

“I can’t believe we're going to die. I haven’t even picked what college I'm going to yet.”

Brick settled the feeling inside of him. Her tone was sad but steady. She was already at the acceptance stage. That was to be expected though, she was a true superhero at heart. She must have known something like this could happen deep down. Still, that deflated tone of hers just didn't feel right and before he knew it the words escaped him.

“No one's going to die. Well, except for Smith. So don’t cry like a whiny little girl.”

He saw the surprise on her features as she turned her face to look at his and was hit with a sudden realization. He was smiling. What the hell was wrong with him? Was he having fun?

“Blossom.” He brought back his icy demeanor in an instant. “Can you move your hands?”

He felt her fingers wiggle behind his back.

“A little bit, why?”

He turned his head back around again then scooted his back to her as close as he could. He shivered a little at the sensation. She was as cold as ice.

“There’s a switchblade in my back pocket. Reach in and grab it.”

She paused for a moment, then reached behind to fumble into the boy's pockets. They both flushed as she grabbed more than she bargained for. Why were men's pockets so deep anyway? After a few excruciating seconds, he felt her stop as her fingers laced against the long rectangular handle. 

“Got it. Um, now what?”

“Hol-“ He cleared the squeakiness from his voice away. “Hold onto it tight.”

He groaned in pain as the pressure around his waist tightened. It was excruciating on his already sore ribs. Those cops must have given him a nice beating while he was unconscious. He scooted his body downwards as far as he possibly could and she never let go of the blade. Eventually, it was freed from his pocket and sturdy in her fingertips.

“There’s a button on it, tell me what direction it’s facing. Ceiling or the ground?” He wheezed out, putting as much pressure on the ropes as he possibly could.

“It’s facing the ground.”

“Ok. Don’t press it yet.” He shifted himself back up. The ropes seemed to loosen a little from being stretched but only slightly. He felt her jump when his fingers grazed her own. For some reason, it really excited him.

“I’m going to grab it and hold it, when I say so slide your wrists up and down the blade.”

He heard a clinking sound then fumbled the blade between the rope and her wrists as carefully as he could.

“Go. As hard as you can. It might hurt.”

She complied without a word, and after some time of vicious rubbing, she was free. 

“I’m out!” She fumbled for the blade’s handle behind her without even being told to do so. Brick smirked to himself a little.

He got free from his ropes a lot faster, taking in a breath as the blood started flowing in his arms once more. “Ok, I’m gonna dislocate my shoulder, slide your left arm up above your head.”

There was a disgusting popping sound, and a rush of pain, then she lifted her arm as instructed without a word. The ropes around them fell loose instantly, landing on the floor. After popping his shoulder back into place he fumbled to stand up. His legs were quivering like a baby deer as he stood but he tried his best not to show it.

She was by her sister's side in an instant, tenderly rolling her on her back to inspect the damage up close. It looked even worse than he thought. She might not make it, and Blossom seemed like she might lose her cool at that realization.

"Do you still have your phone? Those assholes stole mine." 

She looked up at him, coming back to her senses, and fumbled her hands into her pockets. 

"No, but!"

She pulled out a small vial of X-ol and held it up to him. He didn't even want to know where she got it from. 

"Brick you take it. We can use your firepower to get out of here."

He searched her pink eyes for a second, then lowered his gaze to the tiny Bubbles splayed on the floor beside her. It was truly a pitiful sight. 

"It won't be enough for me. Give it to your sister."

"What?" 

Her face was the embodiment of shock and he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. Even he was capable of being nice sometimes.

"I said I remembered favors, didn't I?! You saved my life, I save your sister's. We'll call it even." He spat, then turned and wobbled over to the edge of the dome, grazing his fingers along with the cold metal. 

The exit was sealed tight. Whoever designed this thing had serious brainpower. He doubted Smith was capable of such a task, and that could only mean he had help. Just how deep did this rabbit hole go? He thought back to the moment of his capture and a small fire of rage flicked inside of him. His father did this. He led him right to that cop. But why? Was it a ploy from the beginning, or was he trying to do something else? The inheritance. Was that just an empty promise?

His reeling mind halted as he suddenly remembered something. 

"Blossom. Did you take something from my room?"

There was a long pause. Too long. He turned his head to look at the sheepish girl administering the vial into her sister's veins. She wouldn't look him in the eye. That could only mean he was right. She had the Will. 

"Just a book, and well." she paused and bit her lip, "An envelope."

He glared down at her. If she knew everything why was she being so casual about it?

"So you know then?" 

He took a breath as she looked up at him. Her puzzled face caught him off guard. 

"Know what?"

Was she playing dumb? No. She's not the type. 

"Did you open it? The envelope?"

Another long pause. Her eyes averted back to her sister. 

"Yes... But it was empty. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have looked."

He froze. Did she just say it was empty? Who the hell had it? Boomer? If Boomer has it and gets captured, then anyone could get their disgusting little hands on it. 

Bubbles let out a small gasp, pulling him out of his thoughts. He scrunched up his nose as he looked at the girl. His brothers could be dead and he was worried about a piece of paper. He really was the son of the devil.

He turned back around, a little disgusted with himself, and continued searching for an exit. 

"Blossom, what did you say this thing was again?"

"A Van de Graaff generator. Or perhaps, something like it." 

The way she said it so matter of factly, like he would know just what the hell that was, really rubbed him the wrong way. "Right. But what does it do."

"Invented in 1939 by Robert J. Van de Graaff, The Van de Graaff generator uses a motorized insulating belt collecting electrostatic charge-"

"Blossom." He had to stop her before she even began. He had seen that glint in her eyes at mathletes once before, and it kind of freaked him out. It was like she had become possessed by fucking Noah Webster himself. "Just tell me what’s going to happen to us."

"Basically," She averted her gaze and stroked her hair a little shyly. "We are going to be electrocuted to death."

He pondered that a moment. He had heard death by electricity wasn't so bad. Or at least, there were worse ways to go. His heart clenched when he thought of Butch. Did he get an easy way out? No. He's fine. Butch isn't dead. 

He suddenly found himself thrust down onto the cold metal floor as a huge rumble quaked the ground beneath him. A sense of panic washed over him. This was it. They were too late.

On instinct, he crawled to her, and before he knew it he was shielding the two girls, hovering above them. The look of shock on Blossom’s face would have made him laugh in any other circumstance. He smirked down at her in a strange sense of peace as he waited for the end of his life with the most insufferable girl on the planet. 

“Buttercup?”

Buttercup took in the scene in front of her. Blossom, mostly unharmed, cradled in the arms of the notorious Rowdyruff leader Brick Jojo. She took in a sharp breath as her eyes fell onto the remnants of her baby sister, laying stone still on the cold metal floor beside the two.

“She’ll be alright. I just gave her some Chemical X.” Blossom said. She must have read her mind, since her voice was softer than usual.

The two swayed in front of her as the building let out another huge rumble. She shook her head to steady her mind. They had to get out of there.

“Come on.”

She watched Blossom struggle to lift their sister. Oh right. She didn’t have her powers.

Before she even had a chance to step forward Brick had scooped up the unconscious girl into his arms with ease. She rose a brow as Blossom thanked him with a smile. Man tonight was fucking weird.

“Lead the way.”

She pushed the shock of their shared civility to the back of her mind and turned wordlessly, taking off down the metal corridor in a flash. It didn’t take long to realize they were far behind her. She stopped and landed on her feet, her heart pounding as she waited for them to catch up. They didn’t have long before this whole thing blew to smithereens. At this pace, they probably wouldn’t make it.

“Buttercup.”

She ignored Brick as the two approached, leading the way towards the exit in silence. It’s true that Boomer was helping her, but who knew what this asshole was planning. He was the brains of the operation after all.

“Have you seen my brothers?”

A small throb of sympathy overtook her. Not hours ago she was in his position, unsure whether or not the people you loved the most are alive or dead. Her scowl deepened at her own softheartedness.

“Boomer led me here. I don’t know where Butch is.” She said flatly as she paused to peek around the corner to look for any remaining guards. 

Only the sound of their echoing shoes clanging on metal followed. The air seemed thick with anxiety. It didn’t take her long to piece it together. Something must have happened to Butch. That realization made her feel a twinge of, well, something. Though it looked like she had no time to dwell on it, as two goons appeared before her and readied their guns to fire.

She went to fire a set of beams but before she could both men were out cold, with a frantic Boomer hovering above them. His face twisted from pure relief at seeing Brick safe, to one of dread at seeing his girlfriend nearly dead in his brother's arms. 

“She’s alright Boomer.” Blossom spoke up softly as Buttercup watched his features. It didn’t look like he really believed it.

Another rumble below them shook them all from their stupor. They had to get out of there and fast.

“Stand back.” 

Thinking quickly, she flew up next to the closest wall and gave it a few knocks before rearing her fist back and punching it as hard as she possibly could. The sound of ripping metal rang through their eardrums like thunder and a burst of freezing air filled the corridor. 

“Boomer!” She flew to Brick and scooped up her unconscious sister carefully from his arms. “Carry these two. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

“I’m not being carried.” Brick said matter of factly, though his brother didn’t seem to hear him as he grabbed him with one arm and took Blossom in the other.

The chaos from Townsville drowned out the whistling wind flying past her ears as she approached the city’s skyline. It was in total darkness. Rogue police officers and drug-induced criminals were running rampant. She sighed. It was going to be a long night.

As she landed carefully, as to not disturb the sister in her arms, the loud explosion from far away lit up the night sky in a flash of lightning. A strong sense of relief overtook her. They had made it.

Blossom ran to her side in no time at all, with Boomer not far behind. She glanced at him a moment then reluctantly decided to place her sister into his arms. By the look of it, she would need both fists free pretty soon.

“Boomer.”

All eyes turned to Brick, his voice steady but solemn. Buttercup noticed there seemed to be a strange tension between the two siblings. 

“Do you know where Butch is?”

Boomer could only shake his head as a heavy silence fell between them all.

What were they so worried about? There was no way that asshole would be killed by a couple of guns. Not when he had fought her and lived to tell the tale.

The words escaped her lips before she could even process them. 

“Butch is fine. He’s stronger than both of you two idiots combined and you made it out alright didn’t you?” 

The three turned to gawk at her and she couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. It didn’t matter though, it was the truth. Besides, they had no time to dwell on his absence.

“Anyway, I gotta go save this whole fucking city you three ruined, and I don’t wanna do it alone.” She snapped her head to her sister. “So Blossom! Can I please get some orders!”

Blossom replied without hesitation. As expected, she had a plan at the ready.

“There may be Chemical X in the professor's lab. Boomer, take Brick and Bubbles there. Don’t worry about the passcode, just break the door down.”

Boomer nodded and went to grab his brother again but he held up a hand to stop him.

“Take Blossom. She knows how to administer it properly. I’ll stay with Buttercup and help out.”

Blossom looked like she wanted to argue but before she got the chance Boomer had scooped her into his arms and took off faster than the speed of sound.

Buttercup peeled her eyes away from his fading silhouette and slowly turned her attention to Brick. His red eyes glanced back at her. He looked tired. Weak. She thought about all the trouble he had caused since his arrival, and how easy it would be to just end it here and now. He must have read her mind. Though, she was always one to make her intentions clear.

“I don’t care if you kill me. Just let me kill Smith first.”

She couldn’t help it. A wicked grin crept across her face. 

“Follow me.”

“Alright boys, gather as much loot your fat pockets can carry!”

Smith watched the chaos around him and seethed. He had mulled this over for years. Catering to that fat, rich, disgusting man’s every whim like some sort of dog. All for the sake of ending the Powerpuff girls. Watching and waiting for the perfect time to strike. Paying off the chief of police with ever lousy dime he made, getting his wife to work for Morbucks to gain his trust. Planting a spy at X-Corp for surveillance on Professor Utonium.

Then one day fate dropped Brick Jojo right into his lap and it all molded so perfectly together. Distribute the drug and pay off an evil cat to frame Utonium for all of it. Marianne poisons Morbucks when delivering his afternoon brandy. Force that monkey to build his giant contraption. Then, finally, storm city hall with powered up police force behind him.

Yes, it was the perfect plan. So why was it all ruined in one fell swoop by a small gang of green men?

“Hey Ace, check this out!”

The tiny green man shot a laser beam through another wall as his little idiot friends all laughed.

Smith fiddled with the handcuffs around his wrists. Why did he let himself be chained to this damn chair? In hindsight, he should have taken the drug himself, but he didn’t anticipate something like this. How could he? Bellum was already taken care of. He had armed guards all around him. It should have been a breeze. How could this have happened?

Every occupant of the room jumped when the already broken door suddenly plummeted to the floor. 

No.

No No No.

“Oh hey Buttercup, back so soon?”

Smith watched the girl storm right past Ace without bothering to respond. She looked every bit like a tigress on a hunt, and he knew very well just who was the prey in this situation. 

He felt a lump in his throat as he saw Brick Jojo trail in behind her. That could only mean the plan was a total failure. Worse yet, these two might actually kill him.

“Smith.”

He could only watch wide-eyed as Brick casually strolled towards him. He paused as he reached for the flimsy chair and flicked out a very sharp looking switchblade.

Buttercup plopped down casually on the deteriorated desk in front of him and the others in the room all silenced. Brick Jojo commanded authority wherever he went it seemed. 

“Firstly." Brick hissed as he slowly turned the swivel chair around. “You’re going to tell me where Butch is.”

Smith flinched as the blade grazed his nose.

“I-I don’t know!”

It was true. He didn’t know. Outside sources had said Butch was last seen in some brothel in Citiesville, but when he sent his men there the boy was nowhere to be found.

“So you didn’t kill him?”

“No!”

Smith pulled his head away as far as he could manage it as the blade made its way down to his neck. The steel felt like ice against his Adam’s apple.

All eyes turned to Buttercup as she suddenly stood up and stretched. She must have heard all that she wanted to hear.

“You can do whatever you want with him, just don’t tell me what it is.” She suddenly pointed at the gang of green men. They all jumped back at her ferocious demeanor. “Now, I’m going to beat every villain in the city senseless, you got your loot so get the fuck out of here! And remember the deal, not a fucking word to anybody. If I see you again I’ll fucking kill you!”

The five men didn’t need to be told a second time, and all scattered out of the office like cockroaches. She turned and looked at him straight in the eye for a long moment. The rising sun peeking through the window made them glisten like fire. This is what a monster truly looks like.

“Brick, I’ll leave him to you then.”

She turned her head sharply and stomped toward the exit, but paused to linger in the doorframe. He thought for a moment that perhaps she would have a change of heart, that he would be saved. That linger of hope immediately nullified with the next words she spoke.

“Thanks. For protecting my sisters.”

And just like that, the only hope of salvation was gone.

He closed his eyes as Brick’s attention fell to him once again.

This was it. It was finally over.

After a long, long bout of silence, he summoned up the courage to open an eye. Brick was visibly sweating holding the blade shakily down by his throat. He couldn’t believe it. This child couldn’t do it. He had a chance.

“Bri-“

He paused. Every single hair on his body began to rise and his heart slammed around in his chest like a sledgehammer. Smoke slowly filled the room. He had heard stories but he never dreamed they could be true. It just couldn’t be. Yet there he was, floating beside the boy in front of him.

The very incarnation of evil. HIM.

Brick only looked annoyed as he lowered his blade and turned to face the devil himself. Was this kid crazy?

_“What’s the matter, son? Is this scary man bullying you?”_

Wait. Did he just say, son?

“You!”

Brick seemed to explode as anger encapsulated him. Smith couldn’t help but let his jaw go slack at the boy’s audacious behavior. The gall it took to face the devil when he didn’t have an ounce of power left was immeasurable.

“This is all your doing isn’t it?”

_“Hmm?”_ HIM fluttered his absurdly long eyelashes at the boy. _“Me? Whatever do you mean?”_

“Fuck you!"

Brick looked every bit like a child throwing a tantrum as he slammed the blade down and stormed away from the two. The scene was so bizarre Smith couldn't even feel afraid. Just completely bewildered.

"I’m done. With you. With all of it.”

Smith watched wide-eyed as The devil’s suspiciously sweet smile slowly turn into a scowl. What the heck was going on?

_“What did you say to me?”_

Brick let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his long locks, his anger dissipating. He seemed drained. Totally fed up with it all. 

“You heard me. I’m done with you. We all are. Keep your fucking inheritance. Or give it to someone else. I don’t care. I don’t want it. I'm not going to be your little dancing monkey anymore.”

Smith cowered at the guttural growl coming from the creature before him.

_“You sure about that son?”_

“Yes.” Brick didn’t look the least bit phased, weak as he was right now. "So fuck off."

_“Hmm.”_ HIM’s smile crept his face once again and Smith shifted in his seat. This tonal shift was too much. _“All right then. But you’ll lose all your privileges. Don’t come crying to me when your brothers die cold and starving on the street.”_

Brick seemed to mull over those words for a long time and Smith could understand why. He couldn't imagine how it felt to be disowned by your father. He's so young too, poor kid. Wait. Why did he care anyway? How did he get dragged into this family drama?

Smith jumped when the boy's fiery eyes turned to his own, but after a moment he simply silently and deliberately left the room. His small bout of sympathy for the boy dissipated in an instant. That brat really left him chained up to die next to evil incarnate! A knife to the throat would have been better than this. Anything would have been better than this.

_“Please excuse his behavior. You know how teenagers are.” ___

__HIM’s sparkling eyes were looking into his own. They had an animalistic hunger to them and all he could think about was all of the mistakes he’s made in the past forty years. All of the wasted time in prison and working under Morbucks. All that time he could have been free, enjoying his golden years with his family. Now it was over. He would never get that chance._ _

___“Well, tah tah~” ____ _

____He blinked, a little dumbfounded as the devil disappeared in a cloud of smoke in front of him. A breath he had been holding for who knows how long escaped him. The adrenaline of the night seemed to fade and all at once his body slumped into his seat. By the grace of God, or rather the devil, he had been spared._ _ _ _

____“Harold Smith. You're under arrest.”_ _ _ _

____Harold wasn’t surprised to see Deputy Perez Sanches storm into the room with a dozen or so men in tow. More than anything, he was relieved. He had lost, but he would live to see another day._ _ _ _

____As the officers escorted him out of the building and to his new home, he glanced up at the blue sky and soaked in the rays of the rising sun. It was a nice day._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____ _ _

She opened her eyes slowly. The bright morning sun illuminated through the broken glass window in her bedroom just enough to see the damage that had been done to her childhood home. It also illuminated something else. She blinked a few times for safe measure. Her boyfriend was sitting by her side, his head cradled between his knees and, from the looks of it, he was fast asleep. 

She went to sit up but a shock of pain in her ribs knocked her back down onto the bed underneath her. She frowned and held up her arms. They were covered in bruises in scrapes that seemed to get lighter by the second. Oh, right. The memories slowly came flooding back to her. She was attacked by police and shot with antidote X in her own home. 

She grit her teeth and shot up quickly, the plushies by her side tumbling to the ground as she did so. A few let out small squeaks as they landed. That was all it took. Boomer stirred awake, and turned his head to look up at her. Dark circles hung from his eyes. He looked absolutely terrible, sans the bright smile on his face. 

“Bubbles.”

Her heart did a small flip at the groggy sound of his voice. She became acutely aware of the peaceful silence around them as he looked at her. They were alone.

“Boomer? What are you doing here? Ah! Some police were here! Where are my sisters?! The professor? Are you okay?! What happened?!”

Her words spilled out all at once, getting more frantic with each syllable.

“Whoa, Bubbles,” he floated up and sat down beside her on the bed, placing a large hand onto her own. “I’ll explain everything. But first, are you okay?”

She nodded her head. Her loose blonde curls bobbing slightly as she did so. The truth was she hurt from head to toe, but she knew the familiar feeling of Chemical X in her bloodstream. It didn’t take a genius to realize her boyfriend had come to her rescue and she didn’t want to seem ungrateful.

He smiled that warm smile of his and raised his free hand to rub the back of his head. “Thank god. I was so worried when I saw you. I thought. Well. It doesn’t really matter. You’re safe now. Everything is okay.”

“It is? Where is my family?”

“Huh? Oh, right.” His smile turned a bit sheepish. “Blossom is helping the mayor and your dad at the hospital, and I think Buttercup is taking care of the last of those crooked cops running around...”

She let out a sigh of relief and closed her eyes. They were safe. They were all safe. The warm feeling of Boomer’s hand suddenly left hers, causing her to open her eyes again. He had turned his back to her, and worse yet, his demeanor suddenly screamed of anguish.

“Boomer? What’s wrong?”

“I gotta tell you something. I should have told you before. If I had maybe none of this would have happened.”

His serious tone made her chest tighten. She waited a few long seconds in anticipation. Whatever news this was, it wasn’t good.

“The reason we came here,” he paused a moment to let out a shaky breath. “Well remember what I said when we first came back to Townsville?”

“You said you were good now…” she trailed off as the realization hit her.

She looked down at her bruised knuckles. He had been playing her for a fool this entire time. Her sisters had been right all along.

“Bubbles I lied to you. We all did. The truth is we were really bad criminals in Citiesville. Brick kind of ran the place, to be honest, but then our dad contacted us and said if we fight you we would get this big inheritance. I didn’t really want to do it but Brick did and he always gets what he wants so-“

His voice warbled in her ears as hot tears poured from her eyes and down her cheeks. She wasn’t even sad. She was angry. How could she be so stupid?!

“Bubbles...”

He turned to comfort her but she pulled away before he got the chance.

“So you never actually liked me then?" She spat as she angrily wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand.

“What?! Yes, I did! I do! That’s why I’m telling you. I-“ He sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. “I wanted to tell you this whole time. I really did.”

“But you didn’t.”

Her words weighed heavily in the quiet room. She didn’t dare look back up at him. She didn’t have to. The loud silence already told her what type of expression he was making.

“If you want to break up with me I understand.”

There it was. 

Her heart shattered just imagining it. There was something special about him, something different. When they spoke it was so natural and when he laughed her heart soared. Though, now she wasn’t sure what was real and what wasn’t. Or if any of it was ever real at all. 

She finally worked up the courage to look at him again. He seemed expectant, and his features had never looked so serious. It seemed so foreign. She sighed a heavy sigh.

“I don’t want to break up.”

“You don’t!?”

She almost laughed at the shock that overcame his features. For a liar, he was surprisingly easy to read.

“No, but I need time to-” She flipped her hands around in frustration. It was hard to articulate just what she was feeling. “Just. Will you give me a little space to think about everything?”

“Yeah!” 

He cleared his throat then closed his eyes, probably in an effort to appear more serious.

“Yes. Of course. Thank you.” 

She couldn’t hold back a small laugh this time. This idiot will be the death of her.

“In the meantime,” She furrowed her brow and pointed a finger right at his face. “No more bad-boy antics! You have to be good now! For real this time!”

“I will! I swear!” He nodded his head a little to aggressively and she giggled some more.

“Good. Now um... How do I ask this nicely…” She sighed and looked down at her ragged clothes. Man, she really needed a shower.

She shrank a little as he leaned in closer to her. It was obvious he wanted to talk about this more but that was the last thing she wanted to do right now.

“Can you leave?”

“R-right!” He stood up abruptly, seemingly a little embarrassed at her blunt honesty. “Um. Call me if you need anything! Anything ok? I’ll answer.”

She considered teasing him for a moment but decided against it. The new feeling of uncertainty between them still felt a little too serious for that.

“Alright, Boomer. I’ll see you at school."

He stared at her for a long moment, then awkwardly made his way to her broken bedroom window. Her heart ached as she watched him scurry away from her. It felt wrong to leave things like this.

“Boomer,” She watched him pause and turn his head to face her. “Thank you. For helping me, and telling me the truth.”

He flashed a small uncertain smile to her before taking off out of the dilapidated window.

Now she was finally alone.

The bruises and cuts on her arms were almost completely gone now. Even still, she grunted as she hobbled to her bathroom for a nice hot shower, trying her best to ignore the shattered glass scattered throughout her path. 

She flicked on the clock radio positioned on the sink and painstakingly tore off the rags that were once her clothes. After checking the temperature she hopped on in ready to wash the filth of last night off her body and brain.

“ -owntown has run amuck. If we can’t trust the police or mayor to protect us who can we trust? This city has turned into a dumpster fire.”

Bubbles rolled her eyes. She always hated the news but this time it seemed appropriate to listen. She had no clue the extent of everything after all.

“Oh, sorry to interrupt Joanne but we have an update. The Powerpuff girls are to hold a press conference pertaining to last night’s events. Tune into KBOE news at noon for the broadcast.”

Bubbles jolted the shower curtain back to check the time. 11:32. 

She wanted to see her sisters more than anything right now, and her powers had all but completely returned. But... could she make it?

She raised her eyes to the ceiling. Twenty-eight minutes would be impossible to shower and get completely dressed, at least, if she wanted to look presentable in front of the media.

With a shake of her head, she scrubbed her body vigorously, ready to accept her challenge and start a new day.

____ _ _

____ _ _

____Twenty-five miles._ _ _ _

____It took him twenty-five fucking miles to get here, but he finally made it._ _ _ _

____The sunlight blared into his eyes as Butch treaded onwards. This had to be a new record. The longest walk of shame anyone has ever traveled on foot._ _ _ _

____Every single bone and muscle in his body yelled out in pain, but he couldn’t hear them. His pounding headache made sure of it. This was it. He would never drink again._ _ _ _

____He couldn’t help but wheeze out loud to himself at the state of Townsville. He expected a mess, after all, Brick was supposed to kill the Powerpuffs and inherit hell by now, but this was different than what he imagined._ _ _ _

____He pulled the edges of his jacket collar to cover his ears, even to just hide a little bit of himself. He hadn’t gotten his powers back yet, and the way his head was ringing he wasn’t so sure he could win a fight right now._ _ _ _

____As he passed by city hall he noticed the huge crowd surrounding it. He carefully approached, doing his best to blend in with the chattering humans around him. Brick must be announcing who’s in control now._ _ _ _

____Or at least that’s what he was thinking, until he heard the roars of praise coming from all around him. His heart fell to his knees. There’s no way Brick lost. Right?_ _ _ _

____“People of Townsville.”_ _ _ _

____The crowd around him silenced as Blossom took center stage._ _ _ _

____“I want to thank you all for your support and bravery you showed last night. I’m here to announce that Harold Smith and The former chief of police have been arrested for their crimes, with many of his officers charged as well. We would like to apologize for our massive oversight. We should have taken care of this problem before anyone had a chance to hurt our precious Mayor, and friend, Sara Bellum.”_ _ _ _

____Wait. Police chief? Smith? Mayor?_ _ _ _

____Butch glanced around the crowd in bewilderment. Most people seemed just as confused as he felt right now. His head jolted back to the podium as Blossom cleared her throat. He only just noticed Buttercup standing beside her. She looked so haggard and beaten it took him a few seconds to process what he was seeing. Just what the fuck happened last night?_ _ _ _

____“Mayor Bellum is on her way to a speedy recovery, so expect her return very soon. Lastly-"_ _ _ _

____Blossom paused a second as Bubbles arrived in a flash to her right. She seemed relieved to see her._ _ _ _

____"-Lastly, we would like you all to give thanks to an unexpected source. They showed courage and strength when we thought the end was upon us. So I would like to say, from the bottom of my heart, a heavy thank you to the Rowdyruff Boys.”_ _ _ _

____Ah._ _ _ _

____Butch stepped away from the confused crowd and back into the street, making the trek back home. It all made sense now. He must still be drunk._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____After a short break to dry heave the last of yesterday’s dinner, he finally made his way into the entrance of the complex. He glanced up at it. It was mostly unscathed. Well, except for the giant gaping hole on the twelfth floor._ _ _ _

____Did he die at that brothel? Was he actually in hell?_ _ _ _

____He weighed his options. Finally deciding that blacking out in an apartment with no wall was more appealing than the cold sidewalk, he made his way inside. Hell or not, he was sleeping this one off._ _ _ _

____After a horribly excruciating elevator ride, he stepped off and casually walked over the police tape in his path. He had lost his key but luckily that didn’t matter, as there was no longer any hinges to hold the door._ _ _ _

____“I’m home!” He yelled as loud as he dared. Of course, there was no response._ _ _ _

____Then he saw it. The most beautiful sight. The couch was completely unscathed. He made it back to her._ _ _ _

____He plopped down hard, his entire body the very definition of ache. When he closed his eyes his head spun. He thought about Buttercup and how she looked completely beaten standing behind that podium.  
Next time he'll listen to Brick and stay home. Everyone seemed to always have the most fun when he was gone. It just wasn’t fair._ _ _ _

____With a final exaggerated whine, he shifted onto his back and drifted off into a deep sleep._ _ _ _


	11. Partners

This was probably the most humiliated he’s ever been.

He still couldn’t believe she did that. It was like a nightmare that he couldn’t wake up from. Blossom went on live television and told the entire city he was some type of do-gooder. A hero.

She must have known what this would do to his reputation. Who would want to work with him now? If this was some kind of well-crafted revenge, she couldn’t have picked a better time to do it. He had only been at this shabby motel for a few days and his pockets were already running dry. He needed to find work soon. Taking care of two teenage brothers wasn’t cheap.

He looked down at his brother on the floor in front of him, who was snoring away without a care in the world. Brick almost felt stupid for worrying about Butch so much. When he and Boomer went to collect the last of their things from their now-destroyed home they found him still drunk and without superpowers. He had no real memory of the night before, or at least if he did, he sure wasn’t talking about it.

“Butch!” He gave the boy a hard kick to his stomach.

“Ow! Fuck!”

Butch finally stirred awake and Brick couldn’t help but smirk at his brother’s pain. That’s what he gets. Asshole.

“Get up jackass.”

For a moment he looked like he was weighing his options, but one more curt look was enough to stir him up off the floor. One brother down, one to go.

He walked over to Boomer who was lying on the shabby bed with his back to him. Brick was glad he got some sleep at least. Ever since the big fight, he seemed to toss and turn all hours of the night. Something was eating him but whatever it was he was also keeping it to himself. Since when did these two idiots become so secretive?

“Bo-“

“I’m up.”

Boomer rose from the bed looking like a walking corpse. He was already dressed and ready for school. Did he even sleep last night?

Brick checked his watch. They had to leave soon. He had put it off as long as he possibly could. Spending a day next to Blossom was the last thing he wanted to do right now. He sighed a heavy sigh and flung his backpack over his shoulder. Might as well get it over with.

“Let’s go.”

“So you’re not dead. That’s too bad.”

Butch rolled his neck, trying to get the crick out of it. His powers were only now returning, as he had to go without them as a cruel punishment for insubordination. Though, sleeping on a disgusting motel floor the past few nights probably didn’t help the situation.

“Fuck you. Leave.”

Buttercup had herself plopped directly on top of the desk in front of him. His baggy hoodie still hung from her shoulders. It was a lot more threadbare than before, with holes tattered throughout it. His scowl deepened. If she was going to keep it she could have at least taken care of it.

“Where you staying now?” She asked, looking around the classroom sounding bored.

“Why you wanna come over?”

Her head snapped to him then. He wasn’t expecting her to be making that sort of expression and he had to admit, it gave his heart a small thump in excitement. A small grin crept to his lips. Teasing her was all too easy.

“I just need to tell Brick something.” She said, a little too quickly, as she turned her face back around.

That smile of his fell in an instant. He had heard about his brothers gallivanting all over the city with his counterpart, and he didn’t like it. She wasn’t exactly best friends with them now, but it was hard to miss her casual demeanor when they were around. Her sudden ease around them really rubbed him the wrong way. 

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. What could she need to tell Brick so badly? Also, why did she need to go to his place to do it?

“Just tell me dickwad.” She said, or rather demanded, and turned to look at him again. That glint in her eye was so irritating.

He clicked his tongue. What, was she going to beg? 

“Go ask your new pal Brick.” 

She scowled down at him for a moment, but eventually stood up and shoved her hands into her hoodie pockets.

“Whatever. Forget I asked.” She spat, then stomped over to her own seat as the class bell rang.

He peeled his eyes away from her and looked at the empty seat next to him. Susie was absent and he was glad for it. The nice normal girls always act the craziest when they’re rejected. He really didn’t need that today on top of everything else.

Mr. Holmes cleared his throat, silencing the rowdy classroom as he entered. He looked like he was in a particularly sour mood.

“I know the city has been in chaos for the past few days and it’s your first day back from your break, but unfortunately for all of you, your grades are deplorable and we’re on a time crunch. So today we’re assigning book reports. Eight hundred words. Single space. Due next Friday.”

The class let out a collective groan but silenced when Mr. Holmes slammed a large tin can onto the top of his desk. “Quit yammering. Now everyone line up. You’re picking partners.”

The room filled with complaints but Mitch’s voice seemed to echo the loudest. “Why do we need a partner for a book report?”

“Because, Mitch, the school’s entire budget goes to football and I only have about ten books from my personal library I don’t mind possibly losing to you barbarians. If you want to blame anyone, blame the superintendent. That’s what I do.” He clapped his big hands, silencing anyone who still dared to complain. “Now come on, these two rows. Stand up. Chop chop.”

Butch didn’t bother getting up. It didn’t really matter who he got as a partner since he didn’t plan on doing the assignment anyway.

“Alright pair up!” Mr. Holmes clapped again and the other students scattered to their assigned partners.

“Susie is absent today.” Harry loudly announced, sliding into the empty seat next to him. “I don’t have to do this by myself right?”

Mr. Holmes shook his head at the boy. 

“If she’s not back by tomorrow you can join another group.” The man’s eyes then landed on Buttercup, who was seated by herself and looking like she was trying her best to hide that fact.

“Miss Utonium.” Mr. Holmes sighed and put a hand to his hip, “Where’s your partner? Did you think if you stayed quiet I wouldn’t notice you sitting there by yourself?”

She spat out a vicious “No.” at the man and Butch couldn’t help but snort. That’s exactly what she thought. What an idiot.

“Ah, Mister Jojo.” Mr. Holmes turned his head and addressed him without an ounce of fear. “I see you are also having trouble hearing me today. I guess I’ll reiterate for you. Partner up.”

“I’m not doing it.” Butch replied flatly. He meant it. His brothers could pretend to like this school crap all they wanted but he wasn’t going to read some flowery shit. No way in hell.

“You’re right. Now you’re doing twelve-hundred words.” Mr. Holmes leaned against his desk and crossed his arms. “And You can partner with Buttercup here, since she seems so lonely.”

All eyes turned to Buttercup as she stood so abruptly her chair rattled beneath her. 

“Not a fucking chance!”

Her gang of friends all snickered at the outburst. Even she usually kept cursing out of the classroom. Butch wasn’t laughing though.

“Two thousand words.” Mr. Holmes uncrossed his arms and casually strolled to his seat. “And a formal letter of apology to your kind teacher who didn’t suspend you for your foul mouth. Sound good?”

She glared at him for a long time. Butch could tell she wanted to do more than cuss the man out. He guessed she decided against violence however, since she slammed back down into her seat.

“Now that the theatrics are over we can get started.” Mr. Holmes pulled out a stack of books from behind his desk and began passing them around. “You will have to share with your partner, so make your own schedule. Also, keep in mind it’s a group project. That means you’re writing a companion piece, each worth 50% of your total grade. So work hard or you and your partner both fail.” 

Butch took that as his cue and put his head down on to his desk for a nap. She could read the fucking thing if she wanted to. He wasn’t doing it.

The lunch bell woke him from his light slumber. He sighed and went to get up but stopped when he heard her loud voice in the now quieting classroom.

“Mr. Holmes. Let me be Harry’s partner! Please!”

“Butch is your partner.” Mr. Holmes said as he pulled a lunchbox from his desk drawer. “And You two had better make it a good report. Your grade in my class depends on it.”

“Why do you hate me so much? I’m already busting my ass cleaning up the city. You saw how many people we’ve had to jail the past few days right?! I barely get enough sleep as it is and you want me to do a book report with... that?!”

He heard a pause and frowned, she must be referring to him.

The teacher let out a sigh. “I’ll cut it back to fifteen hundred words. That’s all I can do.”

She stomped her boot like a child throwing a tantrum.

“It doesn’t matter! He won’t do his part! I’m guaranteed to fail! This whole system is rigged!”

“Well, at least you learned one important lesson in my class. Now, will you please go to lunch? I don’t need the department of education on my back for starving you to death.”

Butch heard a loud huff then the distinct stomp of her boots trailing off in the distance. A weird twinge of guilt bubbled inside of him. He couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit bad for her. He wouldn’t want to depend on himself either.

“You too Butch. Get out of here.”

The boy got up slowly with a scowl. So he knew he was awake the whole time. Why was he looking at him like that anyway? This guy was a born and bred asshole.

He shoved his hands and his pockets and sauntered towards the exit, but felt himself pause by the teacher’s desk. He just had to affirm it, to the man and to himself.

“I’m not doing it.”

He scowled as Mr. Holmes smirked up at him, chewing his sandwich like a cow enjoying his curd.

“Right.”

Boomer watched her carefully. Every stroke she made on that canvas was so deliberate, every color seemed to have its purpose. It must have been tough work. So tough that she had to ignore him.

Again.

He pouted a little and peeled his eyes away to look at his own ugly masterpiece. She was still angry. Or actually, she was probably more angry than before. Though he couldn’t blame her. In her mind, everything they shared was a lie. He would probably be angry too. For some reason the longer she ignored him the more he wanted her affections. She looked prettier by the hour, and he couldn’t even kiss her. Like a piece of art that you could look at but never touch. It really sucked.

“Hey Boomer.”

Mike suddenly joined his side, inspecting his work. “Uh, I like what you did with the colors. Very… unique.”

Boomer could only shoot the boy a pathetic smile. All of his new friends sensed the tension between him and his girlfriend and were trying their best to ease it. Not that it really worked.

“So, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime. Just the two of us.”

“I have a girlfriend.”

Boomer rose a brow as he heard her small giggle beside him. What was she laughing at?

Mike shifted a little awkwardly. “I’m not asking you out, dude! I just thought we could hang out. Boys’ night style.”

Oh. Boomer’s eyes rose to the ceiling in thought. He had gotten used to hanging out with his new friends as a group, but hanging out with a guy who wasn’t related to him was a new concept. He had never had a friend like that before. What would you even do together?

“You should say yes Boomer.”

He turned his eyes to see his beautiful girlfriend smiling at him. Her expression looked soft and a little bit sad. It reminded him so much of Christmas Eve. Their first kiss. They hadn’t even kissed since then and looking at her now, the urge to kiss her all over was incredibly strong. His urges must have crept to his features, because her cheeks were suddenly as red as a sweet strawberry.

“Okay. I’m too single for this.” Mike threw up his hands in mock annoyance and turned to make his way back to his seat. “Just text me whenever if you want to hang out.”

Boomer tore his eyes away from her, a little embarrassed. Why did she always give him that look when he thought about his past? It’s like she was a mind reader. A pretty, sweet, kissable mind reader.

“I’m sorry I ignored you today.”

He shook his head. He still couldn’t face her though.

“It’s ok. You said you needed space right? So it’s fine. Even if I do miss you.”

He cringed as the words spilled out of him. God that was too corny. Even for a romantic like her.

“Boomer, Do you want to come to my place after school? The professor still isn’t home but I’m sure it’ll be okay…”

His head snapped around to look at her then. Her place? Unsupervised?

“Your place? Unsupervised?”

She fiddled with her pigtail, seemingly unaware of what she had just insinuated. Oh.

“Yeah. If you want to we can watch a movie or something. Like a... first date. Since we’ve never had one before.”

His small pang of disappointment swirled into a feeling of pure bliss. The first date with his girlfriend. And she initiated it. It truly doesn’t get better than this.

“Yeah! I love you!”

...No. 

He didn’t really say that. 

He blinked stupidly at her dumbfounded face a long moment as it really sunk in.

Good god. He really said that.

“I’d love to!"

He fiddled desperately with the brush in his hand. Her stunned silence echoed louder than any sound his superhearing could ever hear. Playing it off was the only option. Maybe she didn't even notice it. 

"I'd love to! See a movie with you that is. At your house. With you. A film!”

Suddenly all those comments on his intelligence were starting to make sense. Was he always this stupid or did he get knocked in the head a few too many times? Either way, Brick is getting sued for collateral damage.

“Okay.” She tried to smile at him but it was oh so forced. Great. She really did hear it. “I’ll text you a time then. To come over. At my house.”

He nodded his head at her a little too violently. Just stop already!

“Okay! At your house!”

He let out the breath he was holding as the final bell rang. There was never such a lovely sound and he had never gathered his things and exited a room so quickly. 

Try as she might, Blossom couldn’t focus on the trigonometry problem in front of her. Her eyes just kept drifting to the angry looking boy sitting by himself away from the rest of the group.

She didn’t know what she had expected, but the cold shoulder he sent her way for an entire school day wasn’t exactly called for.

He had been so kind to her in that giant metal dome before, what changed? Sure, she publicly thanked him, but why was that a bad thing?! People had been trying to make conversation with him all day because of it! If anything he should be grateful!

“Blossom?”

Her head jerked to her right as the nerdy Elmer tapped her shoulder to get her attention.

“Huh? Oh.” She flipped through her book frantically, a little bit embarrassed about getting caught peeping.“Which one are we on?”

She looked up as Clara’s laugh filled the mostly empty classroom.

“We asked if you’re coming to the next big competition. We’re disqualified if you bail again!” Clara turned her attention to the sullen Brick, who seemed to jump a little as she pointed a finger at him. It seemed his mind was elsewhere as well.

“You too Brick! You haven’t participated in a single match, and you’re our ace!”

Blossom felt a surge of irritation as Brick rolled his eyes at her friend and leaned back in his seat. The way he acted like he was above everyone was so grating. What happened to that boy who smiled at her before?

“Roll your eyes all you want but both of you have to go. We only have two more big competitions before we take a break for finals and I want to go to regionals. Besides, it’s Principals orders.” Clara crossed her arms at the boy, seemingly unruffled by his attitude.

Blossom peeled her eyes away from her friend and glanced down to check her watch. Five thirty. She was pushing it.

The Professor was getting discharged today. She also had to check in with Mayor Bellum and Chief Perez with some paperwork. Not to mention the pile of homework that had accumulated over the course of the day.

“Sorry guys,” She sighed as she stood and gathered her things. “I have to go.”

“Me too.”

She froze as Brick stood abruptly as well. That was the first phrase she had heard him speak all day.

Clara shot them both a look that made her stomach churn. 

“Well ok. But don’t forget the competition is coming up. We need both of you.”

Blossom nodded as she watched Brick wordlessly stomp towards the exit. An overwhelming urge to follow him suddenly enveloped her entire body. She couldn’t help it. This silent treatment had gotten to her.

She jogged to match pace with him in the empty hallway, her ponytail swishing behind her as she did so. It was time to get answers.

“Go. Away.”

He quickened his pace, but not by much. Maybe he did want to talk after all.

“Stop running away! Why have you been ignoring me?”

She felt herself slam into his back as he stopped abruptly. She backed away and steadied herself, waiting for a response, but it never came.

“Look, I know it was just so horrible of me to thank you but you don’t have to act like such a jerk about it.”

Her stomach dropped when he turned around to face her. It was that expression. The one he used on Smith before. That frightening stranger. Maybe sarcasm wasn’t the best idea. 

“Blossom. Fuck off. I mean it.”

His eyes bore into her own. Her stomach lurched at the pure resentment in them. He really truly hated her, and for whatever reason, it made her sick. She suddenly felt incredibly stupid. Why did she think they could ever be friendly with each other? It was simply impossible. They were born enemies. 

After what felt like hours she broke eye contact and shoved right past him as hard as she could.

“Fine.” Her warbled voice echoed around her as she stomped forward, not daring to cast a glance back in his direction. “I won’t bother you again. Asshole.”

“Is this okay? What about these earrings? Is it too much? Wait, where’s the remote?”

Buttercup lazily watched her sister’s frantic pacing from her spot at the kitchen table. Why did she get all dolled up anyway? For Boomer? They only just saw each other a few hours ago. What’s the big deal?

As much as she tried, she just couldn’t focus on her sister’s rambling. The thoughts of her imminent ninth-grade failure made sure of that.

She scowled and looked down at the massive book in front of her. It just wasn’t fair. She should get special treatment. At least a little bit. Obviously, Mr. Holmes has a vendetta against her, but no one seemed to care. She’s going to fail. Or worse. Go to summer school.

A sudden ring of the doorbell brought her back to the present. Bubbles looked like a little shaking chihuahua as she tittered to the front door and Buttercup had to laugh. God this was ridiculous.

She trailed behind her sister as she opened the front door. Boomer deserved a little bit of a scare to keep him in line, and she was the best person for the job.

“Hey Boome-“

Bubbles wasn’t the only one shocked. Buttercup’s scowl deepened when she spotted him. What the hell was he doing here?

“Hey, Bubbles. Hey Buttercup.”

Boomer’s features looked more than irritated, and a bit apologetic. Buttercup didn’t see it though, she was too busy glaring down her counterpart.

“You gonna let us in or just stare?”

Boomer gave his brother a hard shove with his elbow. Obviously, no one wanted Butch here, but that never seemed to stop him before.

Bubbles cast an unsure glance to her, then reluctantly stood to the side to let the boys pass.

They looked completely out of place in her newly remodeled home. Why did Butch look so nervous anyway? He had been here before. The anxious aura didn’t suit him at all.

“Um, so.” Bubbles twirled her hair between her fingertips as she nervously closed the door behind her. “Hi, Boomer. Um, Welcome to my house!”

Boomer scuffled his feet. For whatever reason, he wouldn’t look her sister in the eye. Good.

“Uh yeah! Hi Bubbles! Thanks uh...”

“Jesus Christ.” Butch groaned beside her as he rolled his eyes. When did he get so close? “I can’t watch this.”

Boomer cast a glare his way. “Then leave.” 

Buttercup couldn’t help but smirk. Boomer looked like a kitten charging a lion. Completely ridiculous.

“Buttercup.” She turned her eyes to her sister, who looked just as annoyed as Boomer at her presence. “Can you like, go somewhere. Somewhere not here.”

She flicked her eyes to Boomer and he cowered under her gaze. It would be okay. He wouldn’t try anything. Not this pansy. 

“Fine.” She uncrossed her arms and stomped over to the kitchen table to retrieve her book. Butch seemed to avert his eyes as she stormed past him and up the stairs. Whatever. If he wanted to annoy his brother it was none of her business. Hopefully, he would just get bored and leave.

She had almost made it to her room when she noticed it. He had followed her.

She paused at her bedroom door and turned to glower up at him.

“The fuck are you doing?”

He only shrugged his shoulders up at her. What the hell was with that sheepish attitude? This was going from annoying to gross at a breakneck speed. No way was he coming in her room.

“You hit your head or something? Get lost.”

“Just shut up and let me in. We gotta do this fucking book thing don’t we?”

He couldn’t be serious.

“So now you wanna do it? In my bedroom?”

Her face scrunched up as he laughed at her phrasing.

“Sorry but I’m into chicks.”

He seemed to calm down instantly, his regular arrogant posture out again as he stomped past her and waltzed right in like he owned the place.

“Hmmm.”

She felt a little violated watching her evil counterpart soak in her personal space. No guy has ever been in her room before, and certainly not one who would mock her for any juicy secrets he found. Hopefully nothing embarrassing was left out in the open.

He made his way to her side of the room and picked up the Circle Jerks album that was strewn carelessly on her nightstand. Stop snooping!

She saw his eyes drift to her bed and decided to put a stop to whatever thoughts were rolling in that thick skull of his before they even began. 

“Nope. On the floor.” 

She pointed at the ground as she stomped right past him and plopped down on her bed. He glared down at her a moment but eventually complied and sat with his back to her, resting on the bedframe. 

A long thick silence followed, neither teen particularly eager to break it. She never thought something like this could happen. It really started to sink in. Butch Jojo was in her bedroom and she hadn’t killed him yet. Something about that felt incredibly wrong, but oddly comfortable at the same time. Though they hated each other’s guts, they had become strangely congenial with each other. Were they becoming friends? She decided to break the silence before she could consider the weight of that thought.

“I’ve already read some of it.” She sighed, opening the book and letting the pages fall in her fingertips. “It’s about as boring as you might think.”

She glanced down at him. He seemed more interested in the record’s tracklist than anything else, since he wouldn’t take his eyes off of it. As suspected, this sudden change of heart had to be a trick.

She must have been staring for too long because he abruptly looked up at her. 

“What?”

“What do you mean what? Are you really here to help me?”

He glanced back down at the record a little too aggressively. “I said I’d do the fucking thing, didn’t I?”

This sudden change of heart was conspicuous but she didn’t want to try her luck. He might just get her ass out of summer school. That is if he could write a proper paper. 

As she looked down at the massive hunk of literature a sudden realization hit her. He had never been to school before now. There’s no way he could write a passing paper. Who knows if he could even read the damn thing. The system truly was rigged. 

“God we’re so fucked.” She said, a little defeated, as she clacked the book shut in front of her and tossed it back onto her bed with a heavy sigh.

Butch looked up at her, a bit caught off guard by her sudden mood shift, but he also looked relieved. So she was right. He really didn’t want to do it.

“Well, you’re fucked. I was going to summer school regardless.” He shrugged and leaned back against the bed frame. “If I’m still here anyway.”

She frowned. She had never considered the fact that he might leave again. His annoying presence had shoved itself into her daily routine. Like a fly constantly buzzing in her eardrum. The thought of losing that buzz felt a little strange. 

“That fucking Holmes hates my guts! For no reason!” She huffed and leaned her back against the wall behind her. She had no idea why she was confiding in him, but at least he was listening. 

“Yeah, that guy’s a dickhead,” He said, still not taking his eyes off of the record. “Anyway, can’t we just pay someone to do this for us?”

That gave her a pause. She had never even considered paying off someone to do it. He may be incredibly stupid, but that was brilliant. In the past Elmer had done her homework for a bit of cash, he might do it again. Her small smile fell back into a scowl once again. It’s too bad she was completely broke.

The vibration of her phone in her pocket suddenly caught her attention. She rushed to check it. Tex hadn’t texted her in a few days and she was eager to hear from him. Usually, he at least sent a goodnight message or something, but he hadn’t responded at all. 

“Oh yeah!”

She jumped as Butch swiftly sat up straight and snapped his head around to face her. He looked really pissed off all of the sudden.

“Your fucking boyfriend tried to kill me! Did you fucking tell him to do that?”

She could only blink at him stupidly. 

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

Butch shot up off of the floor. He looked fighting ready.

“Tex!” He spat his name in a fake southern accent, “He shot me with Antidote X at the brothel that night! I had to fucking walk here all the way from Citiesville. Was that on your orders?!”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her heart sank then rose again in anger. Did he just say brothel?!

“You’re lying.” She shot up now, puffing out her chest to match his stance. 

“Why the fuck would I lie?! That sneaky little fucking rat got me right in the neck. I’m gonna rip his little gold tooth out and shove it up his fucking ass-“

“You’re lying!”

It quivered. She had meant to sound angry, unbothered or anything else, but her voice quivered. The look on his face fell and turned into something disgusting. Pity.

“STOP SCREAMING!”

The two jumped as Bubbles crashed the bedroom door open, her shrill scream filling the room.

“We’re trying to watch a movie! Shut up or take it somewhere else!”

The two green-eyed teens stared at the fuming blonde for a long time. She obviously meant business.

“Right.” Buttercup crossed her arms a bit nervously, embarrassed at the outburst in front of the present company. “Sorry Bubs...”

They both flinched slightly as Bubbles shot them each their own warning glare one final time, then again when she slammed the door closed behind her.

“Christ.” Butch spat as the loud echo of Bubble’s stomping feet finally left the hallway. “What’s up with her? I thought she was the sweet one.”

Buttercup didn’t respond. Her mind was still reeling with what Butch had said. Tex went to brothels. Her stomach felt like it was in knots and she chastised herself for it. He was allowed to do that. It’s not like they were dating. They only kissed a few times anyway, it was no big deal. So why did she feel so horrible?

“Uh. I was just fucking around before.” Butch rubbed the back of his neck. That look of pity returned to his face and it made her want to puke. How weak would she have to seem for Butch Jojo to look at her like that?

“No, you weren’t.” She closed her eyes and shrugged her shoulders up, trying to seem as uninterested as possible. “Anyway, I don’t give a shit if Tex tried to kill you at a brothel. He’s my manager, not my boyfriend. He can do whatever he wants.”

“Right.” Butch shoved his hands into his pockets a little awkwardly.

She was really getting annoyed now. He obviously didn’t believe her, but repeating herself would only make her seem more desperate. There had to be a way out of this weird situation.

A rumble of his stomach caught both of their attention. 

“Fuck I’m starving.” He pulled his hands from his pockets and stretched them high above his head. “Let’s go.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “Go where? What about our homework?”

“We’re fucked anyway right?” He lowered his hands to pat his stomach “Come on. Baby needs calories.”

Bubbles raised a brow as she watched her sister walk right out of the front door with Butch Jojo in tow. Sure, she had told her to buzz off somewhere, but she didn’t mean it literally. A tiny lump filled her throat as she darted her eyes back to the screen in front of her. Now she was truly alone with her boyfriend. 

The film flickered in the dimly lit room but she just couldn’t concentrate on it. Ever since Boomer’s small slip up at school all her thoughts were preoccupied with what he had said. She, of course, knew it was only a slip of the tongue. There was no way he really meant it, but the feeling of pure joy she felt when he said those words simply couldn’t be ignored. That forbidden phrase paired with their delicate repair of the relationship was like a recipe for disaster, and Boomer probably knew that too. Since he had not made a sound for some time now.

She worked up the courage to peek at the boy beside her. His fiddling thumbs and strained stare at the television would have made her laugh if she didn’t feel the same way he did at the moment. She flashed her eyes back to the screen before her cover was blown. A small part of her wished he never had told her the truth about his past misdeeds. Things were so easy before now. Maybe this was what a relationship was truly like when you really really liked someone. A walk on eggshells. 

“So…”

She jumped at the sound of his raspy voice and nervously waited for him to clear his throat. For the love of God, please don’t bring up the you-know-what. Discussions of the L word would end this already unpleasant date in no time at all. 

“You guys repaired your house pretty fast huh?”

A small wave of relief washed over her. Everyone said Boomer was a bit slow, but he always knew how to read a room at least. She smiled at him. Despite his own anxiety, he was thoughtful enough to try and ease her nerves. 

“Yep! We have like, super-superhero insurance, so it never takes long for our home to be repaired.” 

Her soft smile grew as Boomer finally looked at her with a sweet grin of his own. The conversation was pointless, but it was something. Something they both wanted. A connection.

“You guys are lucky. Our place was trashed too but they don’t make super-supervillain insurance.”

That small connection snapped like a taut thread in an instant. He talked about it. The other you-know-what.

Bubbles felt a little guilty as she watched her boyfriend wince at his own words. After all, he did survive her cold shoulder punishment and his apology before felt more than sincere. Despite her small unease, she really did want this relationship to work out more than anything. 

Not knowing how to express herself with words, she opted for a different approach and leaned over to give him the smallest peck on the cheek. 

“Huh?!” 

Boomer flushed, but more than embarrassed, his wide eyes staring at her seemed confused. 

She let out a small snicker and his confusion only seemed to grow. The look he got when things just didn’t add up was too much sometimes.

“You know,” She said to the dumbfounded boy as her giggles subsided. “It’s our first date and you haven’t even pretended to yawn and stretch your arm behind me! What’s a girl to think?”

His furrowed brows rose from confusion into a flustered surprise and she snickered more at the rising color of his cheeks. 

“Is that… really okay? I can just do that?”

“Mhm!” Her pigtails bobbed up and down as she nodded at him. 

With a sheepish smile, Boomer gave out an overly exaggerated yawn and delicately slid his arm on the edge of the couch behind her. Her chest tightened with a pleasant rush at the familiar comfort. She knew then with a lot of time, and a little bit of intricacy, things would fall into place eventually. With a little elbow grease they could work again, or maybe, work better than before. With this newfound peace, she turned her head to face the neglected film in front of them, but stiffened when she realized the credits were rolling.

Boomer’s arm tightened around her ever so slightly and she glanced back up at him. Despite the shyness in his features, his voice was as confident as can be. 

“Wanna watch another?”

Butch chewed on his words, and his burger, carefully. Buttercup had been oddly solemn throughout their little mealtime excursion. It made him feel so strange that he opted to buy their dinner and take her to his favorite spot, a cliffside on the outskirts of town. Why he was trying to cheer her up he couldn’t say, but he never wanted to hear her voice waver again. Quite frankly, heartbroken boy-crazy Buttercup was a little gross.

Finally, he decided to just say the phrase that had ridden his mind most of the day. Just rip it off like a bandaid. He couldn’t be humane. He’s not even human. He swallowed the last of his food hard and swung his legs over the ledge.

“You know if Tex got me with Anti-X that night it was probably on Smith’s orders.”

The girl beside him seemed to tense for a moment at that notion. She might have a thing for the guy but Buttercup wasn’t stupid. Well, she was, but she could smell evildoings a mile away, right? She was a pro hero. A Powerpuff. She had to have put two and two together already. 

“Nah.” She kicked her own legs idly over the edge of the cliffside. “He probably just hates your guts. Can’t say I blame him.”

Okay. So maybe she was bad at math.

The light swish of the trees behind them filled his ears. It was obvious he wasn’t going to get her help in his not yet crafted revenge and if he pressed her she might just get all weepy again. The only solution was to change the subject. 

“Right. Wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to kill me. Anyway...” He crumpled up the small wrapper in his hand and casually tossed the remnants of his meal off the edge. “You better pay me back. How can one person eat so much anyway? I thought girls were supposed to eat less.”

She seemed to chuff at that, and toss her own wrappers over the edge. “If you think you’re gettin' any cash from me you’re in tough shit. I’m totally broke.” 

Another swish of the trees fell on his ears as he contemplated her words. Broke? There’s no way she was broke. Aren’t pro heroes paid crazy money to beat people up? She should have had it made. That was like a dream job. Lucky bitch. The only place he could do something like that was the fighting ring…

She shrank back as he turned to her abruptly, but he didn’t seem to notice. A fire had been lit under him and a dangerous glint filled his eyes. That could only mean he had an idea.

“Hey! When’s the last time you were in the ring?!”

She cocked a brow at him for a moment, obviously not trusting this newfound enthusiasm. “Not since you blew my cover like four months ago, why?”

He ignored her accusatory tone and leaned in towards her a little more. She didn’t shrink back this time.

“How much money did you make a fight?”

“A few hundred bucks…” She trailed off as her confused expression morphed into a hardened one. 

Butch ignored her glares and furrowed his brow. A few hundred was normal for a first-timer, but Buttercup was a returning champ. She should have been making triple digits a night. That boyfriend of hers was bleeding her dry. 

“So, How about some new management? We’ll split. Fifty Fifty.”

She looked at the boy like he had grown an extra head. 

“No.”

Butch was visibly taken aback by that answer. He had expected at least a little bit of consideration. She loved to fight, didn’t she? And who wouldn’t want free money?

“Why not?!” He shrank back a little as the words escaped him. Why did he sound so whiny all of the sudden?

“Uh hello?!” Her hands flew around in frustration, and she slowed her voice as if she were a desperate teacher talking to a class of stupid children. “Have you met Blossom? She physically has to follow the law or she might actually keel over and die. My ass would be in juvy so fast if she ever finds out!”

His disbelief must have been evident because after a long pause she crossed her arms and huffed at him again.

“Shut up asshole. It’s true. Blossom can never find out about that place. I’m just glad you didn’t run your fat mouth to her when you had the chance.”

Butch looked skyward with a malicious grin, as if he had only just remembered the debilitating blackmail he had on the girl. She must have read his mind though, because before he knew it a quick punch jabbed into his arm.

“Ow! Bitch!” 

He rubbed his stinging bicep as he glared over at her. It took a lot to hurt him, and she had that brute strength. There had to be a way to get her to use it. If fighting Buttercup was such a thrill, fighting beside her had to be fun too. He thought of his older brother’s tactics. A little reverse psychology never hurt anyone.

“So you fought for Hillbilly Bob’s crumbs but won’t go make your own money?” He scoffed and looked down his nose at her. “Why? Cause mommy Blossom might get mad at you? Aren’t you the toughest fighter or some shit?” 

Butch knew brainpower was never his forte, but maybe Brick was onto something. Buttercup’s stare was lethal, but the faintest of glistening in her eyes told him he already had her answer. Just a little more prodding. 

“All those meatheads are on the X now…” He paused and shook his head for dramatic effect. “I know you want a challenge Buttercup. It’ll be fun. And we need the cash to pay someone off so you don’t flunk out of school right?”

That last sentence did it. He stood up abruptly and patted the dust off his backside. He knew she was all in now. 

He turned and held a hand down to her. A strong breeze swished her raven hair around wildly and the motion matched the thrill building up inside of him at the prospect of a tough fight.

“Come on partner. Let’s go get rich.” 

Clara sipped her iced coffee with a determined curiosity as the small cafe bustled with life around her. Normally, she had a nice quiet time alone at her table as she waited for her girlfriend to finish her shift, but the newest face in the establishment had her full attention today. 

Two minutes. She counted the time internally as she watched the lonesome Brick Jojo across the room. Every two minutes the boy would look up from his phone and cast a nervous glance at Julie behind the counter. With a final long sip, she finished off her drink and stood up. Obviously Brick wasn’t interested in her girlfriend that way, but her curiosity was eating her alive.

He looked up at her as she approached his table and she had to smirk at the small fear in his features. His nervous face twisted up into annoyance as she plopped down without invitation. It seemed like before she could even speak his mind was whirring, already internally planning his escape. 

“What.”

There it was. The signature Brick Jojo greeting. Clara tried not to smile too widely. Brick could run all he wanted to, but she had experienced the cold shoulder from a haughty super teen before. A nine-year friendship with Blossom meant she was practically a pro.

“A what to you too Brick.” She beamed at the boy and laced her fingers under her chin. “Quick question. Why are you peeping at my girlfriend? I know she’s cute but you’re not quite her type.”

She tried her best to hold in her laughter at his incriminating expression. It was obvious he wasn’t used to being spoken to so casually like that, but that’s the very reason she enjoyed talking to him so much. He was like a complicated formula begging to be solved, and she loved the challenge. After a long, long pause he leaned back in his chair, never one to be intimidated. 

“I just wanted to ask her something.” He practically mumbled, casting a glance over at the girl behind the counter again. “But she looks busy.”

Clara dropped her hands onto the table again. What on earth could he want to ask Julie? Sure, she wanted to become friends with Brick but that didn’t mean she was oblivious to his reputation. The thought of him talking to someone she loved for no reason made her a bit uneasy.

“What could you possibly want to ask her?”

Brick looked back into her brown eyes for a long moment, as if he was weighing his options. He had a certain tiredness about him that she hadn’t seen before. Like a boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

“A job.” Though he tried his best not to seem embarrassed, it shone through. “I wanted to ask about a job.” 

Clara couldn’t hold it in any longer. A small burst of laughter escaped her. He was an ex-villain with superpowers yet it took him half an hour to work up the courage just to ask if they were hiring? The whole thing just seemed absurd.

Before she knew it he was standing, about to angrily make his exit. She caught the sleeve of his jacket as he passed.

“No. Sorry! I’m not laughing at you. Well, I am, but not because you need a job.”

He didn’t look like he believed a word of it. 

“Look.” She released his arm but he made no indication that he still wanted to leave. “I can ask Julie but I don’t think they are looking for anyone right now, But-!”

She frantically searched the table for a moment, then grabbed a napkin from the dispenser and pulled the pen out of her shirt pocket. 

“Susie’s mom owns a bookstore on main and since her dads been arrested they’ve been pretty swamped. I bet she would take you.”

She carefully handed the addressed-scribbled napkin to Brick, who seemed to hesitate but eventually reached for it. He looked at it quizzically for a second, then glanced back over to his nearly full beverage on the table and wordlessly decided to take his seat again. 

The two sat in a slightly strained silence for a little while. Brick occasionally taking sips as he watched the normal teenagers and families converse. Clara had another question eating her and decided now would be the perfect time to ask.

“So, what’s up with you and Blossom?”

He scowled at her and slowly lowered his mug back down on the table with a clink. 

“Nothing.”

Clara smirked slightly at his vile tone. At least he didn’t run this time.

“Really?” She checked her nails in feigned disinterest. “Cause Blossom told me you were pretty nice to her before, but now it’s just the cold shoulder. Playing the bad boy routine to get her attention?”

Brick let out a small laugh, but it wasn’t friendly. 

“The last thing I want is Blossom Utonium’s attention. Actually, I don’t want anyone’s attention so you can fuck off too.”

“Oh!” Brick frowned at her as she held a hand to her forehead. “Bad boy Brick’s advances! I’m sorry but we simply cannot be! My heart belongs to another!”

He grabbed his mug and chugged it all in one gulp as he stood up once again.

“I’m leaving.”

“Good talk Brick!”

Clara watched him stomp away with a smirk on her face. That was the most he had spoken to any of his colleagues in his short high school career. A clear victory. 

“Why were you talking to Brick Jojo?”

She turned her head to Julie as she approached the table, frizzy-haired and smock in hand.

“What can I say, babe?” She stood and grabbed her hand as the two walked to the exit. “I have a thing for red-heads.”

This was a bad idea.

“Okay,” Butch whispered at a level only she would hear. “Let me do the talking. Not a peep.”

Buttercup frowned at him as they turned down an alleyway and made their way towards the large man blocking the entrance. She had no idea what he was thinking. They weren’t even disguised. This was a very bad idea.

“Well, look at what we have here.” The big guy crossed his arms as they approached. “What brings a couple of heroes to my neck of the woods?”

She jumped as she suddenly felt an arm slither around her waist. Butch had a cocky smile on his face. What the fuck was he planning?

“Hero huh? I’ve been called a lot of shit but that’s a first.” He pulled her a little closer. “You lettin' is in or what?”

The man looked at them both quizzically, like he was piecing together something, then leaned his back against the door. 

“If you don’t have a warrant then fuck off.”

“Oh, no can do. See my Butterbean here is a real agonophiliac, and I promised her a good time tonight. Ain’t that right baby?” He looked down at her scowling face and gave a wink, his green eyes glistening. This asshole was definitely enjoying this.

“I don’t care what she gets her rocks off to. I’m not letting a Powerpuff in.”

“Yeah?”

The poor guy never stood a chance. In one fell swoop, both he and the door were on the ground in a pile of dust. Buttercup approached the now unconscious man with an annoyed huff. So much for discretion.

“Why’d you do that? Fucking idiot.”

“I don’t argue with humans.” Butch grinned as he approached her, rolling his shoulders back. “Come on! I’m all warmed up now.”

Before she knew it her hand was laced in his rough and calloused fingertips. She flushed as he dragged her forward. He was being way too friendly.

She jerked her hand away to free herself from his grasp, and sped up to match pace with him. He didn’t seem bothered. In fact, the way he grinned down at her seemed to say he was really enjoying himself. This new familiarity was really starting to piss her off.

“Don’t touch me again.” She spat, thankful for the darkness of the corridor they traveled down.

“Aw come on Butterbean. Not even a little squeeze?”

She frowned at his mock pouting and stomped a little faster as they rounded a corner.

“Just Let me talk to Don Marcel. You’ll fuck it up.”

“No, I won’t.” His pouting seemed genuine now.

“Yes, you will.” She hissed as they arrived at the flight of stairs. The sound of thirty-odd men practicing in the noisy ring echoed above them. “So don’t say anything. I mean it.”

Her boots clanged against the metal stairs before he even had a chance to object. He was an idiot but he was onto something. She could make this little scheme work. She could fight again.

As soon as the men noticed her presence they began to scuttle away like helpless bunnies from a fox. She couldn’t help but smirk at the sight.

“Stop running.” She yelled, searching for the only man that mattered. “I’m here to fight.”

“Fight? We don’t do any such thing here young miss.”

Her eyes turned to the source of the scratchy old voice. Good. He was here.

“Cut the shit.” She huffed as she boldly approached the broad elderly man. “Let me fight Don.”

The meek expression on the old man’s face twisted up ever so slightly as Butch approached behind her. She took a deep breath. This had better work.

“I told you, dearie, there’s no fighting here. This is simply a gentleman’s club.”

“Well, it should be fine for her to join then.”

She glared at the smirking Butch beside her. Why wasn’t he Keeping his damn mouth shut?

“I’m not going to arrest anybody.” She hissed as she pulled her eyes back towards the feeble Don. “I just want to fight. Please.”

She watched undeterred as the man’s sweet smile turned into a hardened scowl. He certainly didn’t enjoy being pushed so hard it seemed. Though he didn’t look it, Don Marcel was a tough old goat, with years of fighting under his belt and a connection to the most powerful men in the city’s underground. He thought highly of himself. A man to be respected, not one to be bossed around by a little girl. He crossed his liver-spotted arms over his chest and somehow his feeble frame seemed all the more solid.

“No way in hell am I letting a superhero fight here. You lose one time you’ll go crawling to the cops or those sisters of yours.”

“No, she won’t.”

She tried not to flinch as Butch’s strong grip wriggled its way around her once again. It was obvious what he was planning now, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. She internally screamed as the words escaped him.

“We’re together now. She’s in the Rowdyruff’s back pocket. So it’s your move. Let her fight and you get rich, or I kill you and every bastard in this fucking room.”

Don Marcel glanced between the two. At first, seeming unconvinced, but that soon changed. She knew that look all too well. She had seen it in Tex’s eyes many times. A look of opportunity. One of dollar signs.

“She’ll have to wear a new disguise. And I will receive a bigger cut from both of you.”

She couldn’t help it. A rush of excitement filled her to the bone. She beamed at the old man and quite literally floated to her feet. It worked. She could fight again. 

Don frowned a bit more and he turned his head towards a metal door on the wall behind him. “Go get changed. We have a match from some out of city chumps in an hour, and if you fucking lose you’re outta here.”

“She won’t lose.”

Butch tugged on her again, pulling her to the metal door. As the two wordlessly entered the shabby dressing room she beamed at him despite herself. This really would be the partnership of a lifetime.

“Hello Mayor, how are you feeling?”

Blossom felt a bit stupid as she looked down at the severely bruised woman sitting upright on the hospital bed. Of course, she wasn’t feeling well. Mayor Bellum had taken quite a beating, but even still, she had been steadily working since waking up yesterday. Notepads scribbled with numbers and deadlines scattered around her but for the moment the girl had her full attention. 

“Blossom…” Sara sighed, “About before, I don’t know how I could have been so stupid. I’m so-” 

“I know.” 

Blossom smiled down at her kindly. One look at her old friend told her how sorry she felt about her mistake. She had no reason to hold resentment. They had all been bamboozled after all.

“Your father?” 

Blossom’s kind smile faltered for a moment but she quickly widened it to ease Sara’s mind. The mayor wasn’t the only one who had taken a beating. Her father was just in the other room getting medical attention. Luckily it was nothing too serious but she felt guilty all the same. She should have known better. She should have protected him.

“He was a little banged up but nothing serious. Though he’s pretty upset about being in an orthopedic cast for the next few weeks. He said he wanted to get right back to work.”

Sara grimaced a moment, but kept her composure. “I understand how he feels. These nurses and my assistants have been hounding me to take it easy but I’m already swamped with paperwork. Actually, Blossom, if I can ask you something?”

Blossom tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and nodded as she sat down at the bed’s end carefully. That serious tone sounded like trouble. 

“I received a few calls from the Mayor of Citiesville while I was out.” Sara paused and looked down at her papers. “I was wondering if he called you as well?”

She rose a brow at the woman. Citiesville had made their displeasure of superpowers known for years now. She had once thought to send a fax to the new mayor upon his election, but only received a curt decline in response. There would be no reason for her to get a call from the man after all this time. 

“No. I never got any call.” She thought back with a frown. Her private cell had been destroyed by those officers before, and she had only just gotten it replaced. “Or at least, I don’t think I did.”

Bellum let out a small relieved sigh. “Alright. If he does call you could you let me know before you respond? I have a bad feeling about that man.”

Blossom could only nod her head slowly. Her mind was racing with the possibilities of this supposed call. Before she could ask though a nurse entering the room caught her attention. 

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but dear, if you could help me with Mr. Utonium?”

Blossom cast a final glance to the mayor then stood up with a groan. Her father was a brilliant scientist and a kind man, but getting him to listen to a medical professional was near impossible. 

“Goodbye Blossom,” Sara said, not looking up from her paper, “I’m sorry again.” 

She waved a final assuring goodbye to Sara as she followed the nurse into the hallway, her thoughts growing more troubled with every step she took. She chewed her lip idly as she mindlessly followed the woman towards a rowdy sounding room. As she looked on to see her father arguing with an outraged medical professional the thought hit her. Just how would the mayor of Citiesville get her private cell number?

He shouldn’t have looked.

Butch cast a glance over at the girl stomping on the sidewalk next to him, counting the fat wad of cash in her hands. His chest did a flip as she smirked up at him. This was bad. Really bad.

He couldn’t help himself. It was out of pure curiosity. Scientific research. He had to look at her in that changing room. He had to know what treasures were hidden under that precious hoodie of his.

It was a bad move. He found out way more than he ever wanted to know. The realization hit him like a sledgehammer when he peeped at her nearly naked frame. Buttercup was, in fact, a girl, and she was in fact, incredibly hot.

It felt so wrong to see. So foreign. Her chiseled stomach, plump backside, her defined shoulders and big very soft looking-

“Butch.”

He flinched back a little as she gave him a hard punch to the arm.

“What?!”

He didn’t mean to sound that snappy. She didn’t seem the least bit bothered by his tone though.

“I asked you what you’re gonna spend your cash on.”

“Uh. I dunno. Whores probably.”

He couldn’t hold back a smirk as she scoffed beside him. She looked so different now. Like a girl. A proper girl. How had he not noticed before?

“What about you?” He asked as he shoved his hands into his pockets and averted his gaze back onto the busy street beside him, desperate to keep his mind off of his newfound revelation.

“I’m saving up for something.”

“What, a nose job?”

He flinched again, waiting for another punch, but it never came. It took him a second to realize she had stopped walking. He turned back at her shocked face, then followed her line of sight. Well shit.

“Butch, What the fuck are you doing?”

Brick stood in front of the open door of a small bookstore, but worse, a very pissed off Susie stood beside him, hand on the opened door.

Man today was fucked.

“Homework.” He shrugged his shoulders up in defiance. Brick would never go after his leftovers, but seeing him with a girl he had previously messed around with was annoying all the same. 

“Right.”

He felt a little rise in his stomach when Brick eyed over Buttercup carefully. For whatever reason, it felt incredibly infuriating to see him look at her like that. 

“Well, homework’s finished.” Brick said as he gave a nod to Susie, as if to politely tell her to mind her own business. After a moment she took the hint and begrudgingly slammed the shop’s door closed behind her.

Brick let out an annoyed sigh and turned his back to him. Butch noted that he seemed to be in a very bad mood.

“Go home, Butch. Now.”

“No. I’m walking her home.”

He watched the two turn and gawk at him. He didn’t mean to say that. Buttercup obviously didn’t need to be walked home, she was as strong as an ox and this wasn’t a date. Oh well. There was no going back now.

Brick looked like he wanted to say something, but his face twisted up slightly in confusion as Buttercup approached him before he got the chance.

“Actually, I need to talk to you, Brick.” Butch’s chest pounded as she gave a glance back in his direction. It was the same sort of look Brick had given Susie not seconds ago. Oh. 

Stupidly, he waited a second for a goodbye, a thank you, anything. He wasn’t sure why but he needed a small reassurance. Just a nod to say, ‘I enjoyed my time with you.’. Of course, nothing ever came. The girl had forgotten about their eventful day as soon as she set eyes on Brick. She just wanted him gone.

With one final glance to his befuddled brother, he spat a pathetic sounding “later.” before he took off skyward. 

His thoughts began to fuzz and his stomach tightened as he flew aimlessly towards the direction of his current residence. It just wasn’t fair. Brick always did this. If there was a girl he liked Brick always swooped in and stole their affections. Even if he didn’t return them. Even if it was unintentional. What was it about Brick that made girls go crazy? Why did Buttercup need to fucking talk to him so ba-

The cold air seemed to chill him to the bone as he froze mid-flight and looked down at the bustling city below in an overwhelming shock. All the annoyance inside him twirling around into something entirely new and completely terrifying. The fuzziness in his mind forming into a dagger-sharp point of clarity. Susie’s affections were not the reason for this newfound jealousy.

Oh. He liked Buttercup. 

All at once, their encounters flickered in his brain like a film. The reason he tried to get a rise out of her every chance he could. The way she laughed under the moon the night of their first scrap. The mischievous glint that filled her jade eyes when she jeered up at him. The reason he felt so bitter when her voice shook only just hours ago, and why he felt compelled to make it all better. 

With a hard smack to his face he took flight once again. He didn’t like Buttercup. It was simply impossible. He was just riled up from seeing her figure before. Normal horny teenage things, that’s all.

He frowned as the shitty motel’s flickering vacancy sign came into view. A stiff drink and a cold shower could fix this. It would all be fine. By tomorrow he would be mocking her again. No problem.

He frantically approached the door when he landed, nerves shaken like a cat on a hot tin roof.

God, he _really_ shouldn’t have looked.

Brick let out a loud groan as he inserted the motel’s key into the shabby lock. After that strange encounter at the cafe, and even stranger encounter at the book shop, he had taken to job hunting at more unofficial prospects. As suspected though, none of the important syndicates wanted anything to do with him now. Hours of begging lofty criminals for scraps of change, all for nothing. Things were really starting to look bad. He would have to take Susie up on her offer. It was time to get a real job. A real, low paying, job. 

As soon as he stepped foot inside the smell hit him. Great. He was out all day looking for employment so they didn’t starve, and Butch was smoking weed in the only motel that would take their money. He scowled as he threw his jacket down on the other empty bed in the room. Boomer was gone too. It seemed like his brothers were getting harder and harder to wrangle.

“Put that shit out. Now.”

If Butch heard him, he sure didn’t show it.

“Butch. I’m not in the fucking mood. Put it out.”

“Have a nice date?”

Oh. Brick glanced around at the half-empty liquor bottle on the nightstand. It all made sense now. Another one of Butch’s childish fits. He was pouting about that Susie girl. Brick sighed as he approached his sulking brother who was leaning back against the bed’s headboard. What a baby.

“I was looking for a job idiot.” He spat as he kicked the shoes off of his aching feet. “No one wants to fuck whatever you stuck your dick in, I assure you.”

After a long pause, Butch sat up on the ratty bed and fiddled with something in his pocket. Brick couldn’t help but raise a brow as his brother threw down a stack of hundreds at his feet like it was nothing.

“Do I want to know where you got this?”

“Found it.”

He watched Butch inhale another long drag. An open act of defiance. How childish.

“Seems like everyone’s being generous today.” Brick said flatly as he reached over and plucked the joint from his brother’s fingertips, making sure to emphasize crushing it in his palm. “You’re a lot more like your counterpart than I thought.”

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Brick scowled at the slurred words. He still wouldn’t look at him. How long was he going to pout?

“Buttercup is the one who trashed our old place. She said she wanted to pay me back as a thank you. Or something moronic like that.”

Butch finally looked at him then. He felt a little sick to his stomach as he gauged his brother’s drunken features. His heart stopped a moment. Was that relief in his eyes?

Butch must have noticed he was giving himself away because his relieved eyes quickly darted to the ceiling again.

“Don’t take her money. Then you’ll owe her shit. Don’t stoop to a part-time job either. Just let me handle things for once.”

Brick’s gaze went back to the wad of cash at his feet. It was easily a few grand, and if Butch managed to get it on his own it could only mean trouble.

“You think I would take money from a Powerpuff?”

He reluctantly reached down and grabbed the stack, and gave one more long look at his pathetic-looking brother before pocketing it. 

“Thanks, I’ll borrow this for now, but stop doing whatever you did to get this. I’ll figure it out, so don’t get into any more shit. It’s the last thing we need right now.”

He turned and made his way to the tiny window at the edge of the room, but jumped as Butch suddenly shot up and yelled as loud as he could.

“Oh yeah! Brick!” 

Brick paused at the windowsill and scowled. If a Butch sentence started like that it was never a good sign. 

“I was supposed to deliver a message from Sedusa!”

With a roll of his eyes, he reached over to open the creaky window. Didn’t he just say not to get into any more shit? He had no reason to hear what that whore had to say, but humoring a drunk brother was better than fighting one.

“Fine. What did she want Butch?”

Butch grunted and leaned forward and grabbed the half-empty Gin bottle from the nightstand.

“She said her girls have been going missing for months now, and she wants us to look into it, also-“

Brick scowled again as he watched his brother take a swig then wipe his mouth on the back of his blistered hand. It would be impossible to get him up in the morning.

“She said some old guy has moved on our turf. John Mc- something.”

Time seemed to stop for a moment. It’s true that his hold on the city had all but slipped away, but he always assumed Citiesville would still be there as a backup plan. Now some old man had the city in the palm of his bony little hand? And he knew exactly who that hand belonged to! 

“John? John Mclntire?!”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

His brother’s nonchalance did it. It threw him over the edge. All facade of his icy demeanor melted in an instant. The flame of rage in his gut was threatening to make itself known. He approached the drunken imbecile in only three long furious strides, towering over him. 

“Butch! Fucking idiot! You didn’t think you should tell me this sooner?!”

In a blink of an eye Butch was up and now the one looming, glaring down with bottle still in hand, but Brick didn’t budge. 

“Hey get off my cock. I tried to tell you before but you were too busy killing Puffs. Remember?” 

His rage flared more as Butch gave his chest a couple of hard pokes. 

“Which you didn’t actually do anyway did you? You got yourself caught instead. Like some kind of pussy.”

This was it. The Rowdyruff trio would become a duo tonight. He glared up at him for a long time. Daring him to continue. Just one more word and his brother would feel every punch of pent up frustration.

“Hey, will you guys shut up? I’m trying to watch TV.”

Both boys whipped their heads around to see Boomer lounging on the shabby bed across the room. When the hell did he get here?

“-op story tonight. A hefty inheritance. The infamously fortunate Morbucks family has gotten a new head of estate, as the notorious Princess Morbucks takes over at the young age of fifteen. Are there new plans in store for MorSecurity Systems? Can we trust such a massive responsibility to such a young child? How will she atone for her father’s past crimes? Tune in this Friday at News at Noon for an exclusive interview with the young heiress.”

Boomer let out a whistle as he turned up the volume on the tiny TV. “Wow Brick. You shoulda hooked up with her. We coulda been rich.” 

“I’m not a fucking gigolo!” Brick hissed as he gave a hard shove to Butch to move past him and approach the newest addition to this moronic circus. “Boomer! Where the hell have you been?”

“At my girlfriend’s place.” 

“Girlfriend?” 

He saw Boomer cast a small confused glance to Butch, then turn his stupid eyes on him. Why the hell was he looking like that? 

“Yeah. Bubbles? I thought you knew already.”

No way. 

Not a chance.

Something seemed to snap in the boy’s brain as he blinked at this new declaration. 

This was way too stupid. Even for Boomer.

“You’re dating Bubbles. Bubbles Utonium. Of the Powerpuff girls.”

It was more a revelation than a question, but Boomer felt the need to answer even still.

“Yep!”

The loud cackle of Butch’s laugh drowned out any sound the television was making, and Brick had to take a breath to steady his increasing rage. He didn’t need to clean up a crime scene tonight. This was the only motel in town that would take them. If he trashed it they would all be on the street and his father would have been right all along. Now was not the time for a blind fury, now was the time for a calculated cold leader.

“Not anymore. Break it off. Now.” 

“Why? I like her. Actually... I think I might lov-”

“If you finish that sentence I swear to god I’ll barf.” Butch groaned out as he approached the lounging boy. With a quick grin, he shoved the blond to the floor with one hard kick like he weighed nothing at all.

“Hey!” Boomer shouted from his new spot on the floor.“That’s my bed!” 

“Not anymore Romeo.”

“No way! Brick! Tell him to get off!”

Brick plopped down onto his own bed with a long defeated sigh. He had only gotten home a few minutes before and two bombshells were already dropped oh-so gingerly into his lap. Boomer’s defiance all made sense now, and he was incredibly worried about Bubbles during that embarrassing Smith debacle. He felt incredibly stupid for not noticing sooner, but why would he? It was such an absurd notion it hadn’t even crossed his radar. It didn’t matter. That could be dealt with easily. A more pressing problem had reared it’s ugly head. 

Brick pulled the hair tie out of his locks and his body threatened to tremble in anger as he remembered that old man’s haughty attitude. Who the fuck was this John Mclntire? He had been at Morbuck’s Christmas gala, and apparently knew quite a lot of the important people there. It’s not like he could just go kill the man, not in the peculiar position Blossom had forced him into. His evil colleagues would take it as a slight. This had to be handled carefully, but there was a way. He frowned as he glanced over at his two brothers. This was going to be harder than anything he’s done before. 

“Aw, man.” Boomer groaned as he slapped the belly of the unconscious Butch in front of him. “He passed out already!” 

“Take the floor, or sleep on the street.” Brick spat and leaned over to turn off the small lamp between the two beds. “Just shut up before I beat you to death. And turn that fucking TV off.”

With a loud exaggerated sigh, Boomer clicked the TV off with the remote and curled up on the floor like a sad puppy at the pound.

Knowing it was going to be a sleepless night Brick let his mind wander and whir, mentally getting all the pieces into place. He listened to his brothers’ loud snoring like a metronome, dreading what was to come. In the morning he would have to give her a call.


	12. Alarm

“So Princess, any new plans for your empire?”

Blossom shot an unamused look at her sisters lounging on the couch as she buttoned the top button of her blouse. Today marked a first for her. Well, a few firsts.

The inconceivable happened. She had slept in.

For some strange reason, she had woken up around four in the morning almost every night this week. That bizarre phenomena piled on top of the stress of her ever-growing responsibilities had culminated into her blacking out as soon as she got home from school yesterday. She had slept so long and so hard she didn’t even hear her alarm blaring for school this morning. 

That, of course, meant now all three of the super teens were late for school. And after much, much, pleading and finger-pointing her sisters had finally won her over. They were so late, going would be utterly pointless.

So for the first time in her nine-year academic career, Blossom Utonium was playing hooky.

“Well, I miss my daddy more than anything but I have to say he was pretty crummy in the business sense. I plan to take MorSecurity to new heights. And to expand, though the details are hush hush for now.”

She rolled her eyes at the arrogant tone coming from the television. Why did they even bother giving Princess an interview anyway? The way people put a person’s wealth over their talents never quite made sense to her, but the media was eating it up. At least their cameras were off of the Powerpuffs for the time being. 

“What a fucking tool.”

She grimaced over at Buttercup, who splayed her leg over the couch’s armrest without a care in the world. How her sister was so completely unbothered by impending deadlines left her dumbfounded at times. It must be nice to be so carefree. 

“Buttercup. Should you really be watching TV? What about your book report? You said you would complete it if I let you skip today, remember?”

A small smile crept to her face as her sister flinched below her. It widened a bit as Bubbles turned her attention to the girl as well.

“Yeah!” the blonde added in a condescending tone, “You don’t want to go to summer school do you?”

Buttercup crossed her arms and slouched lower into her seat.

“Ah, shut up Bubbles. I’m almost done with it.”

It’s not like Blossom believed a word she said, but babysitting her sister would impede on her well deserved day off. She filed it away in her mind. She and Buttercup had been on great terms the past few days and a lecture could potentially ruin the strange upbeat mood her sister was in. The professor was right upstairs asleep anyway. He could keep an eye on things. She tutted a bit to herself and grabbed a coat from the living room closet.

“Both of you better behave while I’m gone. If there’s any trouble don’t hesitate to call me.” 

She watched Bubbles wave a hand to her absentmindedly and turn up the volume on the television. She rolled her eyes and made her way to the front door. Since the Smith debacle, Blossom had made a small promise to herself to loosen their leashes a bit more. They were the same age as her, surely they could behave themselves for a few hours.

Her mouth went into a rigid line as she heard Buttercup’s loud cackle of laughter blaring through the now-closed door behind her. 

Maybe a check-in call in a few hours wouldn’t be too pushy.

Boomer glanced up from his phone and over towards the loud unmistakable roar of his brother’s laughter coming from the lunch table across the room.

Lately, it seemed like Butch was the very definition of rowdy, and being surrounded by his delinquent friends at school only seemed to make him more obnoxious. If that was possible. He had been coming home late almost every night too, and Brick sure wasn’t happy about that. Boomer’s frown deepened a bit as he watched on. A happy Butch always meant trouble and the last thing he wanted was to get into any more hot water with his girlfriend. 

“Susie’s with those girls again.”

His attention snapped to the boy seated across from him. Mike seemed especially irritated the past week, and rightfully so. When Susie had returned to school she was like a totally different person. She sauntered around the halls as if none of her previous friends even existed. It seemed so out of the blue no one knew how to even approach the girl about it, and before they all knew it Susie had found a new lunch table full of not-so-nice people to sit with. 

“You guys should just talk to her.” Clara, seated to his right, said as she peeked over. “You know she’s just going through a hard time right now.”

Julie gave a small scoff, and glared over at the girl without fear. “If she wants to talk to us she will. Just leave it.” 

Boomer had already decided to stay out of this new development. He loved gossip just as much as the next guy but never having friends before meant he knew nothing about the small intricate dramatics of high school life. It didn’t really matter anyway. His thoughts were pretty preoccupied at the moment. 

Bubbles wasn’t at school today and for the first time in a while, he was relieved at her absence. 

Of course he wanted to see her. Their relationship only seemed to get stronger with each passing day. Though his heart was fluttering in pubescent bliss every time he caught a glimpse of her, his mind railed on like a hurricane after the orders were placed on his shoulders. He had no idea what he might do if he looked into those sweet eyes of hers. 

Brick gave the command two days ago. Sunday the Ruffs are going to meet with the notorious Sedusa. This fated meeting had the poor boy more than a little conflicted.

On the one hand, he had made a promise. Bubbles made it explicitly clear. Any more crime and their fragile relationship was over. 

For real this time. 

On the other hand, If they didn’t kill this John man and regain power over the city they were all done for. Even if his brothers agreed to turn good with him, which would never happen, three fifteen-year-old boys just couldn’t afford to get by on their own. 

His girlfriend or his family. He was stuck between the biggest rock and the hardest place. 

“Oh yeah, Boomer! Is it true?!”

He watched Clara’s brown eyes glisten with a disgusted curiosity as she leaned into his personal space. She looked as if she was seeing a horrible car crash on the side of the road.

“I don’t know?” he asked a bit nervously, “Is what true?”

Boomer rose a brow as she let out a little scoff like the question was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Brick! Is he really dating Princess? She announced it on live TV a couple of minutes ago!”

Boomer flinched a little under the girl’s fiery gaze. Brick told Princess not to tell anyone. He really wasn’t gonna like this.

“Oh. That. Yeah.” 

A small twinge of guilt bubbled inside of him as he watched his new friends liven up at this juicy gossip. If Brick was pretending to date that horrible girl just to find out information on this John guy, the least he could do for him was attend a meeting, right? He wasn’t actually doing anything illegal, he was just hearing Sedusa out. Right? 

A ring of the lunch bell snapped him out of his troubled thoughts and he cast a glance over at the still pouting Mike as they both stood. This conundrum was way too much for him to handle alone. He needed some outside perspective and Mike’s shoulder seemed as good as any to lean on. He steadied his nerves and quickened his stride to catch up with the grouchy boy.

“Hey, Mike,”

Mike cocked a brow up at him. Boomer could tell the boy was still miffed at seeing Susie, but he was trying his best to be a good friend anyway. He wasn’t sure if it made him more or less nervous that Mike could apparently read him like an open book. 

“What’s up Boomer?” 

Boomer shoved his hands into his pockets a bit awkwardly as he swallowed his fears. Mike was a good level-headed guy. He would know what to do.

“Wanna hang out after school?”

“Oh, this blasted thing!”

Bubbles popped her head into the kitchen only to see her genius of a father fallen right on his backside. His cooking apron askew and his pots and pans littered around the floor. It took every ounce of self-control in her to just sit back and watch the poor man contort his casted leg every which way in order to get up again. The professor was always a little bit proud when it came to asking for help. 

“Professor,” she started, sweetly. “Do you want me to cook dinne-”

“I’m going out.”

Her head snapped to her sister floating by in the hallway behind her. That heavy camo backpack was flung haphazardly over her shoulder again. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the girl. Barely.

Buttercup thought she was clever. Or invincible. Only an idiot wouldn’t notice her sneaking in through the window at three in the morning almost every night this week. She was as loud as a tanker truck and had even managed to almost wake Blossom a few times. Bubbles pretended to still be asleep night after night out of the kindness of her heart, and at the exciting prospect of her sister’s budding romance, but she had to admit she was worried. And quite frankly, annoyed at the routinely interrupted beauty sleep.

Just what kind of boy could wrangle Buttercup’s heart? Bubbles had imagined it many times but the answer always came back to one thing. And it wasn’t good. After all, her sisters weren’t well versed in the art of courting and she worried endlessly for them when boys were concerned.  
Buttercup especially, since she would never confide in her about feelings. Or anything. Ever. She just hoped her big sister wasn’t roaming around all night with a criminal. 

Bubbles felt her cheeks warm and mentally slapped herself a bit for the accusation. After all, she was the one with a criminal boyfriend this time.

Besides, even though it wasn’t quite clear how deep the extent their knowledge of Boomer’s crimes went, her sisters were trying to accept him the best way they knew how. Mostly by ignoring him or shuffling awkwardly when he held her books at school, but at least they were trying. A small smile crept to her face as she watched Buttercup slam a cracked phone into her tattered hoodie pocket with a huff. She really appreciated the effort.

A sudden “ah-hem” in the kitchen made both girls jolt and their attention snapped to the professor standing resolute in front of the dining table. He steadied his shoulders as he scooted out a chair in front of him and gestured a hand to it. The stern tone of his voice paired with his frilly pink apron and clunky cast was a strange sight to see.

“Now, hold on Buttercup. Come sit with me a moment.”

The two girls shared a bemused look before Buttercup floated by her and into the kitchen. Bubbles watched on curiously as her sister set her bag on the floor and took her assigned seat with a loud plop. It wasn’t every day the professor had that serious paternal aura. That could only mean it was time for interrogation. 

A small, arrogant, smirk crept to her face as she saw her father take the seat on the other side of the table, right across from her tense sister. Too bad Blossom wasn’t here. This was going to be too good to miss. 

“Buttercup.” 

Closing his eyes, the professor took a heavy pause then clasped his hands on top of the table in front of him. His knuckles seemed to go a little white from the tension. He was obviously just as nervous as his daughter.

“I received another call from miss Keane this morning regarding your grades. Care to explain what’s going on at school?”

Bubbles beamed as she watched her sister squirm under their father’s gaze. Sure, It was mean to laugh at her misfortune but that was one of the joys of having siblings. Seeing the brash Buttercup become sheepish at their father’s scoldings was always an endearing trait of hers. And hey, Bubbles thought, if the heat was on her sisters that meant it was off of her. 

To her credit, Buttercup kept her tone steady and careful, as if she were trying to feel for what the man was really getting at. 

“It’s nothing professor. I’m taking care of it. You don’t have to worry.”

The two girls gaped in suspense as their father shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Bubbles put a tiny hand to her mouth to stifle any laughter that might dare to slip out. Here it comes.

“Well, Buttercup, the truth is I am a bit worried. You normally have decent grades. Is there something distracting you?”

Buttercup stiffened against her seat like lead and eased out a cautious. “No?” 

“Are you certain? Bubbles mentioned before that you may have a... have a.. B-Boy...”

The professor’s anxiety began to rise to the surface like a time bomb that was out of ticks. It took every ounce of determination in Bubbles to not explode into laughter as Buttercup shot her the nastiest death glare she had ever seen. 

“A BOYFRIEND!” 

“PROFESSOR!”

She couldn’t hold back anymore. Bubbles’ high pitched giggles echoed off the walls and her eyes darted eagerly back and forth, watching her father frantically hobble around the kitchen in turmoil. Buttercup was as red as a beet and she stood now as well, the chair slamming down on to the floor underneath her. Why was her family so silly about these things? 

“Who is it?” The man’s arms were high above his head, flailing wildly. His tone sounded more panic-stricken than angry. “That Mitch? I never liked that smarmy little-! Oh, Buttercup don’t tell me it’s that Mitch boy I’ll just-”

Buttercup sputtered out the words so quickly she was practically spitting, her voice rising with every syllable. 

“I don’t have a boyfriend professor! I was just slacking off, that’s all! Besides-” 

The laughter in the room came to a screeching halt as Bubbles watched her sister throw an accusing finger in her direction.

“Bubbles is the one with a boyfriend!”

Time seemed to stop as she watched the professor’s horrified face, and her sister’s smug one, whip around to look at her. She glared daggers at Buttercup, rage bubbling up in her stomach like a volcano. It was settled. She was going to smother her sister in her sleep tonight.

“Huh?” The professor blinked stupidly at her, his voice a hoarse whisper. “Bubbles?” 

Buttercup clung to this new opening like it was her lifeline. Grabbing her bag and making a beeline for the exit, seemingly more than ready to catapult her baby sister under this bus. 

“Yeah, professor!” Buttercup sneered, a little childishly. “She’s been dating Boomer since Christmas!”

“Boomer? Christmas?!”

“Uh-huh!” 

Buttercup cast her one last nasty look as she stormed out of the front door and closed it with a slam, but Bubbles didn’t see it. She was too busy looking at her father clinging to the back of the chair in shock. She felt her stomach turn as the poor man slowly slumped back down into his seat and rubbed his temples with a new determination. 

“Well. Come on Bubbles. Have a seat.” 

Fifteen Bookstores in the city of Townsville and she had to pick this one.

Brick peered at her from his spot behind the counter, the enormous stack of books in front of him slightly obscuring the object of his frustration. The bookstore was quaint but each wall held a tall bookcase, stacked to max capacity with various works. And, currently, the one and only Blossom Utonium was browsing through the impressive stationary section.

Based on her absence from school, he had assumed she was on some type of important superhero mission. It had been a huge relief. She was a girl of her word, or rather, of her silence. The past week Blossom acted as if he never even existed. It was different than when he had first arrived back into Townsville. Sure, she ignored him then but she would still pester him with a glance here or a scoff there. 

Now nothing but the cold shoulder in class, at Mathletes, in accidental shared glances. She was on all levels a true ice queen. And of course, as luck would have it the one time the girl goofed off to play normal teenager she ended up at his new job.

He tapped his thumb absentmindedly, looking back down at the counter like it was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen. Did she even notice he was here or was she just actually clueless? If Blossom was trailing him again it could mean trouble for his future prospects. Everything had to go perfectly if he was going to get out of a normal occupation.

“Hey Brick! Keeping busy?”

He flinched as the lively woman approached him from behind a curtain to his right. If Blossom didn’t know he was here before she definitely knew now.

“Yes.” He replied simply. This woman was so dense he could be as sarcastic as he wanted and it would fly right over that dull head of hers. Certainly one of the best perks of the job.

His boss, a short round woman named Martha, was the very definition of warm. With a heart of gold and an easygoing mind, she was an easy schlock to manipulate. Which was probably why her estranged serial criminal husband targeted her to mooch off of. Just a typical idiot woman who valued kindness over logic.

He cast a glance back in Blossom’s direction. She was standing stiffly by the shelf and had her nose in a book, but It was obvious she wasn’t reading a word of it. A busybody as always. 

Unfortunately, he must have peeked a little too long, since Martha finally seemed to notice she had a patron.

“My oh my! Is that Blossom? Blossom Utonium?”

Both teens cringed slightly as the woman waved a small but still enthusiastic wave at the girl. Of course, Blossom being the leader of the Powerpuffs meant she had to address every invitation for mindless chatter. No matter how awkward.

“Hello, ma’am.”

Brick rolled his eyes as the girl approached the counter with an obviously fake smile plastered on her lips. How could anyone think that was genuine? His boss truly was an imbecile.

“Wow, it really is you! What brings you to my humble shop?”

“Um,” Brick smirked at Blossom’s fidgeting. She desperately wanted to look at him. “Just browsing. It’s a lovely place.”

Martha beamed up at the girl and Brick tensed when her pearly whites turned in his direction.

“Brick, you have to tell me when we have a customer. Even if it’s a friend of yours. Or I guess especially if it’s a friend of yours!”

Brick internally cringed as the woman gave him a firm pat on the back, nearly sending him to the wood floor beneath their feet. He steadied an annoyed glare to Blossom who for the first time in days acknowledged his existence. He frowned when he realized she was holding back a snicker.

Martha’s laugh faded out when she heard the phone ring from the back room. He practically pleaded with her via eye contact but she, of course, didn’t get the hint.

“Oh don’t worry Brick, I’ll get it. You two just relax!”

With one fell swoop, the once lively room turned still as his boss left him alone with the last person on earth he wanted to see.

Never one to be intimidated, he turned his head and bore his eyes into her. Blossom was dying to know. As shitty as this place was, it finally let him see her squirm again. Just a little bit of fun would be alright. Being on the straight and narrow was exceptionally droll after all. 

“If you want to know,” he said slowly, with a sweet tone of voice, “just ask.”

She seemed caught off guard for a split second but steadied herself, turning up her nose at him ever so slightly.

“Oh? You’re speaking to me now?”

For some reason, Blossom brought out the worst part of himself. The childish part. Without thinking, for once, he mirrored her movement and turned his nose up as well.

“Oh? Were we not speaking? And here I thought we were friends.”

She let out a familiar scoff and for the first time in a long time, Brick managed to smile. Well, smile was a stretch. Smirk was more accurate.

“Fine…” though her voice sounded disinterested he knew it was eating her alive. “Why are you working here Brick?”

There it was. With a wide grin, he leaned his full weight across the counter and peered his red eyes up at her as smugly as he could.

“Not tellin’.”

“Ugh!”

Blossom slammed her book down onto the countertop and turned away so swiftly her ponytail looked as if it might fly off of her head completely. His already wide grin widened more as he watched the girl stomp away. A little fun is always okay.

“Oh? Did she leave already?”

Brick’s grin fell from his face as he stood up straight to address Martha reappearing behind him. For such a large woman she sure was quiet.

“Yeah.” He started shuffling with the books in front of him absentmindedly, hoping she didn’t catch the smile he had just dropped. “You should ban her. She didn’t even buy anything.” 

Martha cast him a playful smile as she took the book left behind by Blossom gingerly in her chubby hands. 

“That’s too bad. I had hoped she would chat with me a little longer. She is such a lovely girl.”

Lovely girl? Didn’t Blossom send this woman’s husband to prison? Brick looked over at her with a small disdain. He could never understand the thought process of humans. If someone threw his hypothetical wife into the slammer he would rip their head clean off of their body. Not that he could ever take a wife anyway.

A loud bang in the shop and a frightened chokehold from Martha tore him out of his thoughts. He looked to his watch with a bored frown as a hulking man entered with a gun in his hand, screaming for money like a chimp begging for peanuts at the zoo. Finally. Time for a break.

Mike watched the boy fiddle with the CD rack across from him in his bedroom with quiet delight. He couldn’t believe Boomer finally took up his offer to hang out. For the first time, he had the opportunity to have a male best friend and that prospect made him absolutely giddy. It was especially exciting that his new pal could be a guy as cool as Boomer. Maybe now he wouldn’t be seen as such a sensitive lad. Or at the very least, he could finally get a certain girl to notice him. 

“You got a lot of CDs man.” Boomer said absentmindedly.

Mike simply smiled from the seat at his desk. Anyone with two eyes could see Boomer was nervous. Though, for what reason he wasn’t sure. Maybe he just wasn’t used to having friends. Real friends. Mike’s heart clenched a little in empathy. He knew more than anyone what that was like.

“So,” He started, turning his gaze back to the sketchbook on the desk in front of him to ease his friend’s nerves a bit. “Not that I’m not happy you wanted to hang out, but is something on your mind Boom?”

Boomer sauntered over to the bed and plopped down with a dramatic, pouty sigh. Mike smirked a bit at the theatrics. Guess that’s a yes.

He absentmindedly scribbled in his sketchbook. If Boomer was so distraught and he had sought out someone other than his brothers to confide in, it could only be about one thing. 

“Bubbles?” 

Mike snickered a little as another quiet whine squeaked out from behind him. Of course it was Bubbles. The poor lovesick boy hardly ever had anything else going on between those big ears of his.

“I’m not sure what to do.” Boomer started, wistfully. “My brothers hate her. Well, Brick does anyway. Who knows what Butch is thinking.”

Mike continued his sketch thoughtfully, taking it all in. Everyone knew the Rowdyruff boys and the Powerpuff girls were enemies. It was just a fact. The boys had destroyed half the city multiple times. And if the stories he had heard were true, the girls actually killed them for it. 

Like, dead, killed them.

Mike shook his head to push away the small feeling of dread, trying to forget the fact that the boy on his bed had stared death in the face and somehow made his way back up to the living. Having superpowers really must suck.

“Well,” he finally said, casually. “Do you hate her?”

Even without taking his eyes off the paper in front of him, Mike could tell what sort of face Boomer was making. He smirked as he heard another loud plop on his mattress. 

“Of course I don’t!” Boomer barked. “Like, really really don’t! Probably the opposite!” 

That was enough to get his full attention. Mike swiveled his head around to raise a brow at his friend. Boomer looked pretty stiff sprawled out on that comfy mattress. Mike thought maybe he would elaborate, but Boomer’s cheeks were burning so hotly he thought better of pressing the issue. 

“Okay.” he turned back around to resume his drawing. “So you opposite of hate Bubbles. What about your brothers? Do you hate them?” 

He could hear Boomer shifting his weight on the mattress behind him. 

“No. Well. Kind of. But they are all I have. Well, I have Bubbles now too. But it’s different.” 

“So you love them all in different ways. Why do they have to like each other? What’s the problem?”

Mike could practically hear the gears turning in the boy’s head behind him.

“Mike,” Boomer’s voice was hesitant, and the most serious he had ever heard it be. “If one person you loved wanted you to do something, but you would lose someone else you loved in the process, what would you do?”

“Hmm.” Mike hummed aloud at the proposed conundrum and set down the charcoal pencil in his hand. “I guess I would just do whatever I wanted to do.”

A beat of silence filled the room until Boomer finally groaned. Mike pushed back the smirk creeping to his lips. Okay, so no one ever said he was a master of insight. 

“Look, man,” Mike said as he grabbed the sketchbook and stood, walking over to Boomer and dropping it down unceremoniously onto his face with a plop. “It sounds to me like you’re just trying to please everyone. Just stop and think, _really think_ , about what you want. Stop letting everyone else dictate your life. Even if you love them, or even if it might hurt.”

Boomer grunted in agreement and pulled the sketchbook from his face. His eyes went dubious as he looked down at the drawing in his hands. 

“Are my ears really that big?”

“Nah. They’re bigger.”

Mike laughed at the jib, and Boomer quickly joined in. For the first time all day Boomer Jojo was back to his cheerful self, and even though Mike knew the boy on his bed was a freak of nature, he was glad to have him as a friend. 

_Bzzzt._

Boomer’s chuckling died down long enough for him to reach for the phone in his pocket. Mike nearly jumped out of his skin when he shot up off of the bed in a bright flash of blue. His big-eared friend looked absolutely terrified hovering above him.

“What is it?!” 

Boomer said nothing, just frantically turned the phone’s screen down to face him. Mike smiled a little as he read the text.

_Hey Boomer. My dad wants to have dinner with you soon. Boyfriend interview time! :p_

Buttercup punched the bag in front of her as hard as she could without breaking the damn thing. The color of her cheeks was only now starting to subside from her embarrassing confrontation with her father a few hours ago. Unbelievable. Bubbles really ratted her out!

“What’s up with you?”

She snapped her head around to the boy smiling behind her a bit more angrily than she intended to. She couldn’t help it. Seeing his stupid face today only made her more pissed off for some reason. It didn’t help that he had been in an extra giddy mood for the past few days. Fighting with these X’ed up chumps only made him cockier with every victory. If that was possible. 

“Nothing.” she hissed as she knocked the bag clear off of its chain with one final hit. If Butch knew about the humiliating boyfriend interrogation he would never let her live it down. Not that she wanted to confide in him anyway. 

“Well, whatever.” 

Buttercup tried to look anywhere but at the shirtless boy as he approached her. Her father’s talk of lovers must have put her into more of a tizzy than she initially thought, since she had already caught herself glancing a few too many times at that firm stomach. Something was definitely wrong with her.

Something was wrong with Butch too. Well, she knew that already, but he was worse somehow. 

Outside of the circuit, he was his usual crass self. Laying heavy on the insults at school and making perverted jokes with her friends when they were all together. However, each time they stepped foot in this place he acted more and more like they were just peas in a pod. He kept trying to find any excuse he could to caress, poke, or prod. The way he held her a little too close when they were stretching, or how tenderly he wiped the sweat from her cheek after a match made her skin crawl. Sure, they had to keep up the show for Don but this was going way too far. Even for Butch.

There was also the way he would look over his shoulder like he was expecting someone every now and then. 

She frowned and peeled the gloves off of her battered hands. Butch was being beyond suspicious. He was definitely up to something.  
He approached her casually, undisturbed by the furious glare she sent his way. 

“So did you talk to that nerd about the book thing?”

Ah. The other source of her fury.

She clicked her tongue and rubbed her knuckles in idle thought. Elmer had completely blown her off the past few days. She only had a week to get the damn report done but each and every time she tried to get with that little geek he avoided her like the plague. Why was he running from her? Was he mad about something? Did he not even CARE that summer school was becoming more and more of a nightmarish reality? Needless to say, she had more than a few sleepless nights over it already.

Without looking at the half-naked boy beside her, she turned and started stomping towards the changing room without an answer. Butch didn’t care if she failed anyway. He didn’t care about anything except fighting and fucking. Just like every other guy she’s met.

As she slammed the metal door closed and peeled off the baggy sweat-stained shirt from her shoulders her mind began to wonder.  
She hadn’t heard a single peep from Tex since the Smith incident. Heartbroken may not be the word she would use to explain how she felt but it was pretty close. Maybe Butch was right and he was working for Smith all along. That would explain the radio silence since the incident.

Or, just maybe, he found a sexy woman at that brothel he wanted to keep around and he didn’t need a girl like her anymore. Not when he had someone beautiful to cling to his arm and laugh at all of his stupid little jokes. Guys loved that sort of thing. Or, so she’s heard.

She shoved on her sort-of clean shirt with a huff and stomped towards the door, bag in one hand and hoodie cradled in the other. The sight of her reflection in a small ratty mirror on the wall made her stop in her tracks. 

Her face was flushed, and her cheeks glistened with grime and sweat. The greasy hair that clung to her forehead outlined the cuts and scrapes that were still not fully healed from that last practice match. With a defeated sigh, she dragged her heavy legs to the metal door, kicking it open with a booming clang. 

She couldn’t blame Tex if he fell in love with a mysterious woman in a brothel. After all, It was common knowledge that she was the ugliest Powerpuff. 

She walked right past Butch, who was leaning against his usual spot on the wall next to the changing room. He looked bored to tears as he listened to Don Marcel bragging about his glory days of fighting.

It apparently didn’t take the boy long to spot her though, since she heard the distinct sound of his heavy boots jogging behind her in no time at all. 

“Leavin’ already Butterbean?”

She scowled at the pet name as he finally caught up with her. Obviously he knew they were leaving. His shirt had found its way back home onto that chiseled body of his.

Both of them could fly, but walking around Townsville together in the late hours of the evening had somehow become part of the daily routine.

As they left the dusty building and turned into the desolate alley she took in a deep breath of the cool evening air. The streets were bustling tonight and she was glad for the noise. No one ever stopped to speak to her like they did her sisters, and walking on the sidewalk surrounded by people and skyscrapers made all of her problems seem incredibly small. For the first time in a while, she felt at peace.

“Why you so bitchy today?”

And just like that, the peace was gone. 

She tugged the hoodie dangling in her hands a little closer to herself and quickened her pace just a bit.

“Why are you so fucking stupid?”

Butch replied to her childish response with a click of his tongue. At least he wasn’t being disgustingly sweet anymore. Her eyes rolled when he appeared in front of her in a flash, bearing a scowl and blocking the path.

“Move.”

He stared down at her with intensity, completely ignoring the angry people circling around to pass the two. She returned his glare. He was pushing it. 

“Fine.”

With a final glower for good measure, she knelt down and went to take flight, but an intense pain in her arm stopped her before she got the chance. What the fuck was he doing?

She went to spit out a “Let go.” but before she knew it her surroundings were soaring by in a blur and he had dragged her into the closest, and darkest, alleyway.

Panic began to sink in as her back slammed against the brick wall behind her. It worsened when one arm shot to her shoulders to hold her into place, and his other callous hand roughly covered her mouth.

On instinct, her eyes began to heat as she prepared to fire a set of beams but paused when she realized he wasn’t looking at her. His wide, harrowing eyes were staring out onto the busy streets. Sweat poured from his brow and he looked absolutely shaken to the core.

The hair on her arms stood on end as she followed his line of sight, her eyes searching frantically for whatever could get Butch Jojo so riled, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Just a crowded street full of humans.

The two stood hunched in this strange position for what felt like an eternity, until finally Butch removed his sweaty hand and let out a breath he must have been holding.

“Butch?”

She stared at him for a long time, waiting for some sort of explanation. She could practically hear his mind whirring, but after a long pause, his usual demeanor was back again. Well, his unusual usual one anyway.

“Hey, you wanna go somewhere?”

She could only blink at the small smile he passed her way. Okay. Butch was always a psycho but he must have reached the breaking point. It was time to get off of this mood swing.

“Yeah.” she spat. “Home.”

If her rejection for a night out bothered him he didn’t show it the least bit. His once frantic forest green eyes looked at her with a strange detachment as the sun’s setting rays reflected off of them. For some reason, that distant look was more alarming than the panic-stricken one he showed not seconds before. His voice was practically a whisper as he shoved his hands in his pockets and responded. 

“Right. Well, later then.”

She cast one more cocked eyebrow towards that disgustingly sweet smiling face of his before crouching down and kicking off of the asphalt with as much force as she could. The situation had her so razzled she didn’t even notice that her precious hoodie was left behind.

She was still reeling. 

As soon as she set eyes on that horrible boy Blossom made a vow to herself right then and there. She would never play hooky again. 

First, she had scuffed her brand new shoes at the park. Then, some woman on that chemical x drug tried to rob the pastry shop she was in. Worst of all though, every bookstore in town was sold out of the hardcover Moleskine planner she had her eye on.

That quaint little bookshop was her last hope. 

She stomped her red flats hard on the concrete sidewalk below her. The civilians around her parted like the Red Sea as she trekked through the shopping district but she didn’t pay them any mind. Though the encounter was hours ago, her face still twisted up in disgust just remembering it. 

That pompous, snide, rude jerk! Sneering up at her with that stupid little red hat on his head!

Why couldn’t she just have one single day for herself? Was it too much to ask for? It was like the universe was punishing her for daring to act her age and goof off. Well, she huffed bitterly, lesson learned.

A loud buzz in her purse caught her attention. Still plowing forward, she angrily slammed her hand into it and shuffled out her cellphone. The screen flashed a picture of her and Robin and the boiling rage inside her subdued a bit. A relieved smile returning to her face as she answered. 

“Hey Robin. What’s up?”

“Hello, Blossom. I’ve finally been able to reach you.”

She halted in her tracks. The cheerful yet gruff voice on the line wasn’t her childhood friend. Alarm bells began blaring like an air raid siren in her mind and her voice was all but trembling as she responded. 

“Where’s Robin?”

The man’s voice let out a small chuckle and her hackles raised at the sound. 

“Not to worry. You wouldn’t answer my calls so I simply had my assistant change the outbound caller ID to one we knew you would answer.”

A woman glared at her as she passed by her on the sidewalk. Blossom was far too preoccupied with the call to care though. She booked it off of the concrete and flew towards Robin’s house in a rush. She didn’t know who this man was but she was sure of one thing. He couldn’t be trusted. 

“Who are you?” She asked loudly, trying to speak over the wind flying by her ears. 

“Sorry, my name is Tom.” The man let out another phony sounding chuckle. “You sent me a fax a couple of years ago. Do you remember?” 

The Citiesville Mayor? 

The ground below her indented a bit as Blossom landed in her front yard. Her shoulders visibly relaxed as she looked across the lawn to see Robin sitting on her front porch completely unharmed. 

“Well, Tom, Was it?” she started apprehensively, casting a small wave to Robin who just noticed her presence. “What do you need?”

The man’s tone went dark as he answered. 

“The Powerpuff girls.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, long time no post! Sorry I haven't been updating a lot lately. (or at all lol) I just wanted to say thank you for all of the nice comments and kudos. I never expected my little story to get any attention and I'm flattered that people would read it. I was debating on whether I should rewrite some of the old chapters, since I really hate them, or if I should just keep going. And for now, I decided I'll just keep trucking with what I've got. Anyway, thanks for your patience. I hope everyone is staying safe out there with everything going on. And thanks for reading!


	13. Scorching

“Well. It’s so nice of you to finally grace me with your presence.”

Brick took a seat in the plush chair and let the sarcasm roll off of his shoulders like droplets of rain. Sedusa was always the type to dish out insults in a not so indirect way. Judging by the lavish office decor around him it was apparent the woman craved respect and authority, though he knew she didn’t deserve an ounce of it. Everything this woman had to her name was swindled out of some old man whose wallet was stiffer than his dick. She earned nothing of her own merit, and the only thing she could give him was what he needed most right now. 

Information.

“What do you want?” Brick coyly asked and leaned back in his seat with as much gusto as he dared. 

Sedusa may have had the secrets, but he had the muscle and brains to match. She needed him more than he could ever need her.

“Always get right to it, don’t you brat? You’ll never satisfy a lady like that.”

Every ounce of feigned sweetness was gone from her voice now. Brick tried not to smirk as the woman lit a cigarette and leaned her elbows on top of the desk between them. She was haggard. This wouldn’t take long.

“I was promised round-the-clock protection. I’ve also got the intel, but it’ll cost you extra.” A haze of smoke filled the luxurious room as she paused to let out a long sigh. “But I’m sure you knew that already.”

“Really?” Brick grinned and tilted his head upwards toward his brother standing on his right. “Hey Boomer, if you do this job for me, you have to pay me too. How’s that sound?”

Sedusa’s hair whipped around idly as Boomer put a finger to his chin in mock thought.

“Hmm. That don’t sound fair at all Brick. Seems to me you should get paid for workin’.”

He couldn’t hide his smirk now. Boomer was getting more distant by the day, but this routine was so ingrained in him he responded on instinct. It was a comfort to know that his brother could play at being good all he liked, but this was who he truly was.

“See.” Brick shrugged his shoulders up, shaking his head in a condescending disappointment. “Even an idiot knows how this works.”

With a huff, Sedusa smashed the remains of her cigarette onto the desk, clearly unamused.

“I’ve lost seven girls already! Seven! They were the young ones with the perky tits too. Do you have any idea how much money I’ve lost?”

“Hmm.” He tilted his head to his left now, his tone one of mocking curiosity. “Butch, how much is a night with a whore here?”

“Two hundred. Butt stuff is extra.” The boy paused to give his pinky a wiggle. “Well, Unless it’s with Amy.”

Sedusa slammed her hands down onto the desk as she stood, her hair snapping wildly. Finally.

“Fine, you little snot-nosed freaks! But I want this fucking guy dead! Do you hear me? Immediately!”

She slammed back down into her seat and rummaged through a box of files by her feet. Brick tried not to seem too eager as she slid a manila folder across the desk towards him.

“First thing, our little vigilante.”

He scowled as he looked through the blurry pictures in the file, Boomer and Butch casting a shadow over him as they hovered behind. With all the mess back in Townsville, he had entirely forgotten about the Citiesville vigilante.

“They keep raiding drug dens and blowing up labs. Nothing serious but certainly a nuisance. I’m surprised you haven’t taken care of it already.”

Boomer’s hand reached down and picked up a particularly grainy photo, his eyes squinting in order to really take it in.

“You think they took your girls?”

Sedusa hissed more at that and rested her chin upon her hands.

“Why I don’t know Boomer. That’s what I want you to find out.”

“I’m not here to talk about Batman wannabes.” Brick said flatly, folding the file shut and leaning forward. “Who is John McIntire?”

Sedusa paused and leaned back in her chair. Presumably for dramatic effect. Man, adults were a pain. 

“I don’t know everything, but he’s a wealthy man. His people outsourced the military security systems for Morbucks. Or at least he did until that fat fuck got himself killed. Now he does it for your little girlfriend I suppose.”

Brick stared at her unamused, waiting for her to continue. He knew most of that already. Princess had bragged about it endlessly on their last little outing.

The vile woman crossed one bare leg over the other and, finally, continued.

“He’s a brainiac type. You might like him actually. Made himself rich years ago by inventing this weird serum. Quite a charming man too. He’s won over half the city in no time at all. Mostly with his piles of money but still. I don’t know what he’s planning but I know he’s had a few scraps with Tom already. I’m sure John will kill that man come spring.”

Tom? Why would McIntire have bad blood with The Mayor of Citiesville? As far as he could tell, both of these old men were as crooked as they came, with equal amounts of power. If he were in either of their shoes, he would join forces. A clash just wouldn’t make sense. Maybe they had a history? Brick really didn’t want to speak with that narcissist if he could help it, but it looked like he had no other choice.

Butch’s brash voice behind him pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Why you telling us this anyway? Aren’t you working for this guy now?”

Sedusa smiled sweetly at him for a moment, then dropped the facade in a snap.

“I don’t work for anyone honey. I just pay the man my dues, but they’re a bit steep for my liking. Now, if that’s all, get the hell out. I’ve got other business to attend to.”

Brick stood and gave Sedusa one final look of disgust for good measure. She may know more than she was letting on, but only the devil could say what that something was. He turned, his long hair swishing slightly from the aggression and stomped towards the office door. It took him a second to realize only one of his idiot brothers was following him.

He cast an annoyed glare back towards Butch who was firmly cemented in place beside Sedusa’s desk.

“You guys go ahead.” He said, grinning, “I got first watch.”

Brick and Boomer shared one more final eye roll before they both stomped out of the office with one particular destination in mind. 

“The Mayor is ready for you.” 

Blossom forced herself to smile at the uptight woman gesturing them down a hall. Her kitten heels clicked against the marble floor below her feet as she carefully followed. After the impromptu Powerpuff meeting with Miss Bellum last night, she had only learned a few things about the Citiesville Mayor.

He’s all about appearances. He has a lot of pride and doesn’t care for crass language. He was a very wealthy man. 

Not a lot of material to work with.

She cast a sideways glance at Buttercup stomping beside her. Her sister had woken up in a tizzy this morning, and in typical Buttercup fashion, wouldn’t say what was eating her. Bubbles had volunteered to stay at home with their father, and Blossom couldn’t help but wish her sisters had traded duties, given the circumstances. 

The duo was ushered into a very modern looking office. A giant window on the far end had the blinds shut tight, and a giant navy rug splay on the ground below a dark metal desk in the center of the room. Mayor Bellum’s office was always warm and comfortable, but this room was almost cartoonishly opposite. Yes, cold would be the best word she could use to describe it.

A middle-aged man with a horrible fake tan and an absurd amount of botox was seated at a desk and laughing with someone on his phone. He nodded at the girls in a strange way, as if to acknowledge their presence. His blue suit was pressed, and his blonde hair looked less than authentic. She saw Buttercup stiffen her shoulders a bit out of the corner of her eye but chose to ignore it for now. 

“Your nine o’clock, sir.” The woman said hastily, practically shoving the girls inside and slamming the giant wooden door behind them. 

The man beamed up at them and waved an enthusiastic hand towards the chairs in front of his desk. Buttercup cast her a glance in confirmation and she nodded. She could tell her sister felt entirely out of place here. Hopefully, they could get this over and done without incident. 

The Mayor ended the call just as their behinds met the cold leather seats. 

“Blossom! Buttercup!” he started, his voice bellowing in delight. “I’m glad you could make it. It means the world to me.” 

“Likewise.” She replied stiffly, ignoring the eye-roll from Buttercup. “To what do we owe the pleasure, sir?”

The man, Tom, guffawed at her and settled back into his grand chair a bit.

“Right to the point, huh? I wouldn’t expect anything less from a leader like you. That attitude will certainly get you far.” He paused briefly to stare down at his desk and twiddle his thumbs a bit. He looked as if he were trying to be sheepish but the obvious facelift wouldn’t allow it.

“I know the Powerpuff girls and Citiesville weren’t on the best of terms before, but I hope to put the past behind us. The truth is girls, we need your help. I need your help.”

Buttercup crossed her arms and sat back further in her seat. 

“Duh.”

Tom seemed a little slighted by her curt response but soon regained his composure. He cast her a smile as he stood up and turned away from them, facing the window. 

“A bad man named John McIntire is wreaking havoc in my city. I need you girls to stop him. Do you think you could do that for me?”

Blossom held back her own eye-roll at the man’s condescending tone. Mayor Bellum never spoke to them like they were just stupid children, unlike this character. 

“Well,” she replied, trying not to let the irritation come through in her voice. “What can you tell us about him?”

Tom fiddled with the blinds in front of him a bit nervously. He made an amused “hmmm” sound for the sake of it, like he had been waiting all day for someone to ask. 

“He has a lot of money, though I’m not sure where he gets it all from. Illegally I presume. He lives in a mansion on the outskirts of the city. It’s armed to the teeth with guards and gadgets. And,” He dropped his hands from the blinds with a clack and turned once more to face them. “He’s very sick. Though with what illness I couldn’t say.”

Blossom waited a beat for him to continue, but he never did. The small oscillating fan in the corner whirred a bit as he looked expectantly at her, and she felt far too confused to be unsettled. 

So let’s get this straight. The Mayor wants the Powerpuffs to beat up a sick, rich, old man? For no apparent reason? 

“Soooo, what bad stuff has he done?” Buttercup broke the silence in an annoyed tone. “Besides be old and rich and sick?”

Tom’s eyes snapped to Buttercup. He looked completely taken aback. Well, as much as his facial muscles would allow anyway. Blossom chewed her lip to bite back a smile. Buttercup certainly had her moments. 

“Well.” He stammered, “Nothing yet. But it’s pretty suspicious, right? He just moves into town and he has been donating to charity cases like crazy. He donated a quarter-million just this past winter. Where does he get that money? Why is he just giving it away? The people adore him. Why does he need a damn army surrounding his estate?!” 

The girls jumped back slightly when he slammed both his hands on the desk in front of them. All facade of a happy politician was gone now. Even Blossom had trouble controlling her temper as he practically lunged across the cold metal desk to scream at them. 

“There’s something in his place! A weapon, lab, something! I’m not sure what, but I want you, little girls, to smash right through his front door and yank that old bastard out. Dead if you have to!”

There was a long, long, pause, and it took a moment for The Mayor of Citiesville to realize what he had said. Buttercup was the first to rise, and after a second to hold her composure, Blossom was on her feet as well. What a complete waste of time. The Powerpuff Girls weren’t pawns for political games. Especially when it wasn’t even their city. The gall of this man.

“Well,” she huffed not so politely at Tom and walked towards the door. “We’ll look into it sir, but we can’t arrest a man without at least reasonable doubt.” 

She heard Tom slam back into his seat behind her without so much as a goodbye. Not that she expected one, but really. How did such a vile person get elected as Mayor?

Blossom furrowed her brow and turned to give Buttercup a look as they both started down the hallway once again.

“What a creep.” Buttercup spat, “I can’t believe I missed Muscle Mania for this.”

“Sorry Buttercup.” Blossom smiled weakly at her sister. “I thought it would be more important.”

Buttercup grunted in response as they rounded a corner. A few staff members gave them cold looks as they passed but she didn’t pay them any mind. “Hey, did you catch the toupee? What the hell was that thing?”

Blossom tilted her head back and laughed loudly, the absurdity of it all finally catching up with her. “I know! It looked like a feral pomeranian. I didn’t know if I should call the salon or animal control!”

Both girls erupted into laughter as they exited the lobby and started their trek down the concrete steps. It abruptly stopped when she felt herself crash face-first into a warm body of red and orange.

“Oh! I’m so sorry-”

Her heart pounded in her ribcage when she looked into the red eyes searing into her own. Really? She couldn’t even escape him here?! 

“Yeah. You are sorry.” Brick spat out quickly and readjusted the red hat on his head. He tried not to show it, but she could tell he was just as flustered as she was at the collision. 

Her eyes went to Boomer, who just threw up a pathetic looking hand at her. He looked like a puppy that had just gotten caught eating her homework. Whatever these two were up to she knew one thing for sure. Clearly, they were completely guilty.

Could they be tailing her? No, that didn’t make any sense. They wouldn’t bump right into her if that were the case. So what were they doing on the front steps of Citiesville City hall?

She gave a quick menacing frown towards Brick. He seemed to hesitate for a moment then returned the favor. The tension was getting too hot and for some reason, it made her nostalgic. In a furious, disgusting sort of way. She needed to get out of there before she handed him another right hook she might regret later. 

Buttercup readied herself to make a snappy remark but Blossom snatched her sister’s arm up and away before she could even get the words out. In a millisecond, the two were flying rapidly through the air. Her mind and heart were reeling.

She and Buttercup flew idly in the direction of Townsville for a long while in total silence. There was so much on her mind she wasn’t even sure where to start picking through it. Why did the Mayor call her so desperately just to take care of one old man that had done nothing wrong? And wasn’t it strange that the boys were right there, on his doorstep in the midst of all of it? Citiesville was well out of the Powerpuff’s jurisdiction. Is it even right for her to meddle in that city at all? 

“Hello? Blossom?”

Blossom snapped her head to her sister, who looked equal parts annoyed and concerned.

“Huh?”

“I said I have to tell you something.”

Buttercup’s hesitation had her curiosity completely piqued. She slowed her pace down, so they were flying side by side.

“Okay… What is it?”

Buttercup hesitated again, and it took a curt look for her to finally sigh and give in. 

“I’ve got some information. But if I tell you, you can’t ask me where I got it from.”

Blossom took in her words for a long minute. The wind around her ears made them icy cold. It wasn’t often that Buttercup let her in on a secret. It must be important.

“Deal.”

Buttercup nodded at that, her voice becoming a bit dark.

“The Rowdyruff Boys are in cahoots with the Citiesville Mayor. I don’t know why or how, but I do know they are in his back pocket. I’m sure that guy is up to something and this John guy might be in with them too.” 

True to her word, Blossom didn’t press her sister to elaborate. She chewed her lip idly as the outskirts of Townsville came into view. If the Mayor hated John, and was in with the Boys, then did the boys hate John as well? Her spark of curiosity was scorching now. Perhaps the Puffs could pay this John man a visit sometime soon.

Professor Utonium rubbed his tired eyes. He had tried to keep himself as busy as possible in the lab, restoring old projects and making useless trinkets. He even had Bubbles help him change a spark plug in the old station wagon. It was no use though. He just couldn’t still his desire to return to work.

The time off was welcome at first, but the more time he spent cramped at home the more he realized just how chaotic the Utonium household had become. He was a single father of three teenage daughters, it was to be expected that things would be a little crazy. Lately, though, the girls were completely out of his hands. One overwhelmed with worries far too mature for her age. One on the verge of failing her freshman year. And, of course, one dating a criminal.

He sighed heavily and set down the socket wrench in his hand. 

Their sixteenth birthday gala was only just a few short months away. Just where did the time go?

“Professor, dinner is ready!”

He smiled up at his daughter peeking her head down the stairwell at him. Bubbles had been on her sweetest behavior ever since their little talk. Even if she was just buttering him up for the inevitable awkward dinner, all the extra attention wasn’t unwelcome. 

He started up the stairs and toward the kitchen. The smell of pancakes and tofu bacon had him all but salivating. Breakfast for dinner was always a favorite. Though, he mused as he took his seat at the table, Bubbles probably knew that already. 

He shot a concerned glance towards the two empty seats across from him. Blossom and Buttercup had returned home after a relatively short meeting with the Citiesville Mayor, but they soon left as quickly as they came. Who knew just where they went so late. On a school night no less. 

“Where are your sisters?”

Bubbles took off her apron and floated to her own assigned seat at the table. She seemed especially irritated when her sisters were brought up. Petty fights were common amongst them and he really hoped it would pass without intervention soon. He had learned his lesson about meddling where he shouldn’t some years ago.

“Blossom is at Robin’s house. I don’t give a crap where Buttercup is.”

He went to scold her but he heard the front door slam shut before he got the chance. The unmistakable sound of his daughter’s boots stomping made him smile. 

“Speak of the devil.”

Buttercup passed by and slammed down into her seat without a reply. She seemed incredibly preoccupied and irritated since this morning. Hopefully, it was pertaining to her grades, but somehow, he guessed that probably wasn’t the case. He sighed inwardly and watched Buttercup shovel as many pancakes into her mouth as she could hold. He really didn’t want to crack down on her for doing so poorly in school, but it was a father’s duty. Singling her out was always a particularly turbulent experience. He jumped a bit as her grumpy face shot up to meet his own.

“Profether-” She started, pausing a moment to swallow her food, “Have you seen my pho-”

“I’m home! Oh good, dinner’s ready.”

All heads turned to Blossom entering the kitchen. The poor girl looked utterly exhausted. Maybe the coming spring break would be a nice time for a family vacation. He sighed again. As if work and supervillains would ever allow such a thing.

“Hello, Blossom. How was the visit with the mayor this morning?”

Blossom’s face scrunched a bit before she finally dropped the books in her hand and took her seat. Not great apparently.

“Oh that. Miss Bellum was right. He was a total weirdo. I don’t think we’ll have anything to do with him.”

The professor chewed his food a bit. It’s too bad he couldn’t have gone to meet with this man himself. His girls were more than capable, but a parent has to worry when politicians were involved. 

“I see.” he finally replied. “Well, perhaps that is a good thing. You girls already have enough on your plate.”

“Buttercup doesn’t.” Bubbles replied flatly, trying not to laugh at the face her sister was making. “She has all the time in the world to stay out all night with her boyfriend every night.”

The table went still for just a moment. A calm before the storm of the century was about to break loose. He barely even had time to react before Blossom had his rowdiest daughter in her clutches.

“Hold on a second! What does she mean out all night?!”

Buttercup said nothing for a long moment before spitting out a “She’s lying.” But her stare towards his youngest daughter was all but lethal. So there had to be some truth to it.

“Buttercup, is this why your grades have been slipping?” He tried not to let his shock show through his voice, but failed miserably. 

She was on her feet instantly, apparently about to make a grand escape, but the unmistakable blaring beep of the hotline filled the kitchen. 

Blossom sighed, loudly, before standing and unpocketing her hotline cell.

“It’s Mojo. Guess he’s back from his vacation.”

The three took off in a flash of light without so much as a goodbye.

And so, Professor Utonium stared at the empty chairs in front of him for the sixth night that week. Something definitely needed to change.

He resisted the urge to pull out the device for probably the fifteenth time that day.

Butch sat at his lookout point dutifully. The warmth from the worn-out tattered hoodie on his shoulders did nothing to stifle the bite of the freezing concrete under his rear. Or the pang of anxiety in his chest. Even an evening with Amy had proven to be no relief. Well, not mentally anyway. Buttercup had become such a stain on his brain none of his usual pleasures could rub her away.

The plan was supposed to be easy. Play it cool with her. Act like nothing was going on. Because it wasn’t. He didn’t have a crush on her. Just the thought of it made him sick.

But, somehow, it was as if a floodgate opened in his ribcage, and in his pants, whenever she was around him. Sure, he tried to play it off. Be ruder. Meaner. Rowdier. It didn’t help though. The truth of the matter was that Buttercup did something to him. Though he wasn’t sure exactly what or why, he was certain of one thing. She didn’t feel the same way about him. 

He looked down at the Citiesville citizens scuffling on the dimly lit sidewalk below him and frowned, thinking back to Friday. He didn’t mean to act like such a freak around her. Especially on that day. Something was really bugging her. He just wanted to take her mind off of it. Maybe get a laugh or a pout out of her. Anything to have a shred of normalcy between them again. But then he went and did… that. 

What could she have been thinking when he slammed her against the wall in that dark alleyway, sweating like a lunatic? He had to do it though. Since he saw his precious daddy parading around the city’s streets. 

Luckily HIM didn’t spot her. Or at least Butch hoped he didn’t. The devil’s mind appeared to be elsewhere as he hovered above those humans, practically in broad daylight. He was searching for something. Just the memory of it made Butch rub his arms to fight off the goosebumps. HIM usually spoke to Brick directly. In fact, Butch hadn’t seen his father in the “flesh” in quite a long time and the sight of that red skin made him uneasy. He clicked his tongue and shifted his weight a little. HIM was up to something, and hopefully, he would never have to find out just what that something was. 

The cracked phone buzzed in his pocket again and Butch finally relented and reached for it. If Buttercup knew he had her phone she would absolutely kill him, or at the very least break his nose again. It wasn’t his fault that she was an idiot and left it in her, or his, hoodie pocket. He was even going to return it to her without peeping as a sign of goodwill. Honest. 

That was until she blew him off at the ring on Saturday. 

After he stood alone in that ring like a fool he decided that he didn’t care about her or her damn privacy anymore. Last night he snooped endlessly and unabashedly, hoping to find some naked pictures or embarrassing texts. 

All the pictures he found were, unfortunately, PG, but that didn’t stop him from sending a few flattering ones to his own phone. He also found her begging and pleading with that dorky kid Elmer to do the book report for her. Butch scowled a little at the memory. It was really pathetic of her. 

Why didn’t she say anything? Did she have that little faith in him? She should have just told him what was going on. He was going to have a talk with that nerd to get it settled once and for all tomorrow. 

He was glad she was dumb enough to not set a password as he looked down at the text with a grimace. It was another message from that stupid fucking bumpkin, Tex. Butch read the message aloud to himself, in a horrible southern accent of course. 

“Still not answering? Sorry I’ve been AWOL darling. Want to meet up next weekend? I sure have missed you.” 

He grinned bitterly and swiped his fingers across the screen, again saying his response aloud. This time in his best Buttercup impression.

“Sorry for the late reply, doing hero shit. And sure thing. Meet me at our usual hangout. Missed you too.”

He hit send with a bitter grin then promptly blocked the number. It was petty and stupid but he felt a surge of triumph anyway. It felt nice to get revenge. For the New Years’ gift of a prick in his neck obviously. No ulterior motives here. Obviously. 

A huge explosion a few blocks away caught his attention. The citizens below scattered and screamed like helpless little children. Butch was on his feet instantly, the light from the huge flames reflecting off of his face and the breeze from the impact blowing his hair back wildly. 

Could it be the vigilante? It might be a distraction to get him away from the brothel lookout point. But how would they know he was here specifically? That would mean that someone on the inside was behind the lady-nappings. Or maybe the vigilante is on the inside? 

He blinked.

Ew. He sounded like Brick just then didn’t he? 

He kicked off of the skyscraper and made a beeline straight towards the chaos. 

Since when did he care about shit like that?

The rubble crunched under his boots as he landed. A quick scan with Xray vision showed no warm bodies around. So much for a scrap. He gave a small kick to a beam nearby to see if any cold bodies could be found underneath it. Nothing. So the place was completely empty when it exploded? Speaking of. 

He floated up a ways towards a melon-sized gadget strapped onto a particularly large pile of debris. He reached for it but yanked his hand back with a hiss. What the hell? The flames around him were scorching but they had nothing on this. It wasn’t just hot. This thing burned through his flesh like a warm knife through butter. 

The distant sound of sirens snapped him out of his pain. If he was caught at the scene it would piss off Brick to no end. He groaned loudly and flung off his hoodie, snatching the device and swaddling it like a baby in hopes the cloth would lessen the biting pain. He took off flying low, only to notice the bomb finishing off the poor remains that was once his favorite source of warmth. 

Luckily he wouldn’t have to fly far. He inhaled sharply in pain as he landed in front of the hideout. He reared his foot back for a kick but stopped when he noticed a small thump land by his feet. He looked down, thinking that maybe a part of this dangerous thing had broken off, but what he saw was far more deadly. He groaned again when he realized he was looking at the steaming pile of molten plastic that was once Buttercup Utonium’s cell phone.


	14. Bite

How in the hell did they have so much energy before school even started? 

Buttercup listened idly to the boys all chattering around her with her head down. A thin layer of frost from the snowy morning sky settled onto the wooden table below her. For whatever reason, she couldn’t help but feel the biting cold stung even more than usual today. 

“Did you guys see the fight last night?” Floyd started, absolutely giddy.

“It was awesome!” Lloyd added, practically yelling. “McConor’s eye totally popped out.” 

“Yeah! And he kept punchin’! It was sick!” Mitch’s raspy voice boomed as he plopped down next to her. She felt his warm arm nudge her freezing bare one. 

“How bout you Buttercup? You watch it?”

She finally raised her head off of the table, a bit more snappy than she meant to. Mitch gave her a “yeesh!” then turned his attention back towards the twins across from them. 

She really tried to keep herself calm and together, but anyone who still had both of their eyes could see just how miserable she was. 

First, she lost her phone and favorite source of warmth all in one go. Then there was that horrible meeting with that stupid Mayor, which made her miss this legendary eye-popping fight by the way. And, after an absurdly long battle with Mojo last night she was questioned for hours about her supposed ‘boyfriend’ until Blossom simply couldn’t go on anymore. She kept her mouth shut of course but it was annoying all the same. Her sisters were dangerously close to discovering the truth. She would have to be more careful from now on.

There was also the fight with Bubbles this morning.

She glared across the courtyard at her sister. Bubbles was snuggling and nuzzling that idiot boyfriend of hers, practically sitting in his lap. Right in front of God and everyone. How the hell was she still afraid of the dark but so brave when it came to shit like that? And why the hell was she still mad? The professor didn’t even really care that she was dating Boomer anyway. 

She sighed and rubbed her frozen arms. Bubbles could really be a major brat when she wanted to be, but for some reason, Buttercup couldn’t stay mad at her sister for very long. Hopefully, they could make a truce soon.

Wait. 

She ceased rubbing and darted her eyes around the courtyard. If Boomer is here then that means-

“Hey.”

A hiss escaped her when she felt a hard flick to the back of her head. Her neck craned to glare up at the grinning boy behind her. She expected him to lay heavier on the mockery today, given how they left things on Friday, but his tone was upbeat and playful.

“That’s my seat.” 

Mitch and the twins went quiet as the two super teens stared stupidly at each other. Buttercup hadn’t lashed out at Butch in awhile, but it was always a possibility. She had to admit, the fact that she could keep her friends on their toes even now was amusing.

She went to make a smart ass reply, but Butch was already shoving her aside and making himself comfortable, sandwiched between her and Mitch. She watched him for a second longer, but when he completely ignored her presence her gaze went back out unto the crowd again. 

So it was going to be the “pretend nothing happened” route then. 

That was totally fine with her. She had bigger fish to fry right now anyway.

“Hey,” 

The boys all silenced at her dangerous tone and turned to look at her. She didn’t take her eyes off of the bustling crowd of teens around them though.

“Where the fuck is Elmer?”

A beat of silence. Then two. 

“Uh.” Lloyd started, he sounded a little too nervous for her liking. “He’s coming to school late today. Something about a doctor’s appointment.”

Another long silence ensued. 

She gave a little grunt in reply then slowly put her head back down, far too exhausted to be angry. In this stabbing cold, the inevitable burning hell that was summer school was starting to sound like a paradise. She closed her eyes and let the noise around her drown her worries. It really wasn’t the end of the world. It wasn’t as if she had summer plans anyway. These assholes hadn’t even noticed a lack of texts from her over the weekend. Even if she spent months in Mr. Holmes’s dungeon she was sure no one would bat an eye at her absence.

Her body jolted when a warm leg brushed up against her own. 

She peeked up a bit. If he wanted to get a rise out of her this early he was out of luck. She was not in the mood. Surprisingly though, Butch just kept shooting the shit with their friends as if he hadn’t even noticed. Guess it really was an accident.

Her gaze fell to his bicep. She only just realized he was without a jacket as well. Wasn’t he cold? Maybe he was just too stupid to be cold. Instinctively, her eyes then shifted downward. Grazing over his forearm and lingering a bit. Everyone knew Butch was strong, but seeing his physique up close still amazed her even now. The raw power in every fiber of his muscle left her more than a little envious. She let her eyes finally fall to his hand. Her own fingers involuntarily flexed remembering the feel of it. Rough and calloused. But warm too.  
She blinked a few times. A bulbous, purple scar peeked out from the bottom of his palm and raised upward, wrapping around his wrist. 

That was new.

Did something happen over the weekend? Maybe in the fight she blew off Saturday? Guilt gnawed at her stomach. Even if he had been acting insane, she still really wanted to fight beside him. It couldn’t be helped though. She was too busy retracing her steps in a desperate search for her phone. And, she thought, her favorite hoodie. 

Her heavy-lidded eyes popped open when he rubbed his leg against hers again, much more aggressively this time.

She snapped her head up, and embarrassment flooded her entire body when she locked eyes with him. 

Cheeks hot, she scowled up at him. Though, judging by that teasing look leering down at her she knew it was no use. Her peep show had been busted. 

Not wanting to give him another second of glee at her expense, she swiftly buried her face back into her freezing arms. Fucking idiot.

Blossom frowned a bit at Clara's melodic laugh. Thankfully Miss Axiom, and all of the other students in the room, were too preoccupied with group work to hear the topic of their conversation. She was especially thankful that the said topic decided to sit as far away from her as he could today.

“I can’t believe you ran into him at his job like that.” Clara, who was completely turned around in her seat in order to face her, managed to say between laughs. “And in Citiesville too? Are you in a rom-com or something?”

“More like a horror movie.” She grumbled in reply. “I can’t escape that jerk.” 

Clara’s laughter finally died down, but she was still grinning like an idiot. 

“Aw come on Blossom.” She started, her tone exasperated. “Can’t you two just be friends already? I mean you guys saved the city together.”

Blossom fiddled with the pen in her hands and took in her friend’s words. Saved was a very generous term. It was more like they both failed miserably together. Still, she had to admit her perception of him did change that night. 

She watched him seated at the front of the classroom from the corner of her eye. Before, just the sight of him had her on full alert, ready to battle to the death at a moment's notice. Now though, it was more of a burning annoyance. Not exactly a dramatic difference, but she made note of it nonetheless. 

“Anyway-”

She snapped her eyes back toward Clara, whose face held a smug grin. 

“We have a match coming up that we really need to cram for,” Clara said, trying her best to keep her voice steady, but her excitement was evident. “We’re all meeting at the bookshop on Friday so don’t make any other plans.” 

The bookshop? Wait, that bookshop?

“Brick agreed to that?” 

Blossom winced a little. She hoped Clara didn’t notice the burning curiosity in her voice but one look at her friend's face told her that she did. 

“Well, not yet.” She replied, turning herself around bravely to look at the back of Brick’s head. “But I figure if he’s trapped at work he can’t run away.”

Brick must have finally sensed eyes on him. He turned around and looked directly at Clara, who simply threw up a hand and waved at the boy.

“So, what do you say? Wanna annoy Brick?”

Blossom bit her lip to hold back a smile when he rolled his eyes at them. 

“I’ll be there.”

“Listen pops! Jail or not I want it done. I’ll be visiting later this week and you better have a fucking answer for me.”

Brick hung up before the voice on the line had a chance to respond. His father was an idiot in many ways but if anyone could figure out the mechanics of that strange bomb it was Mojo Jojo. He groaned and dialed one of the goons at the hideout for an update. Thanks to his new buddy McIntire, the pickings for intelligent cronies were slim, to say the least. Trusting all of these people, and big-brained monkeys, to do their job was unbearable but he had no choice for the time being. 

At least he wasn’t shooting in the dark anymore.

His little weekend visit back home had turned out to be a gold mine of information. As he came to learn, the Rowdyruff turf wasn’t the only thing that old geezer had his milky eyes on. Tom’s facelift threatened to rip in two when he explained the situation yesterday. McIntire was after the prestigious seat of Citiesville mayor. 

It was no wonder he crashed face-first into Blossom on those steps. The Mayor was frantic. Tom had to take John out before he had the chance to toss his hat into the ring. Frame him with some sort of crime and have the sweet little Powerpuff girls swoop in and catch him in the act. All while leaving them in the dark about the disgusting folk who really ran Citiesville. 

Though he didn’t like the idea of the girls fucking around in his city, Brick had to admit it was a solid plan. Or at least it would have been if that idiot hadn’t lost his cool at the most crucial moment. Tom should have known his meeting with superhumans would sour. Any Citiesville local could tell you the man absolutely detested them. 

Brick mulled his options again for the hundredth time. Blossom probably caught onto Tom’s real intentions immediately. She had to have known the Ruffs were in cahoots with him too. Though, he mused, she couldn’t prove it. He could always make up an excuse for bumping into her there. Still, she was too close for comfort. Keeping clear of her asinine justice was another hurdle he certainly didn’t need right now. 

Maybe Tom had the right idea. If he played his cards right the Powerpuff girls could save the day.

“Anything?” 

“No boss. Been empty for hours.”

“Keep watching. Don’t take your fucking eyes off the place.” 

His call was interrupted when a soft clammy hand slivered around his arm. He inwardly sighed and clacked the burner phone shut. Princess was exceptionally loose-lipped about John when he was brought up, but the problem was she often had more important things to discuss.

“So what do you think Brick? Live music or a DJ?”

“For what?” 

He tried his best not to look her in the eye whenever he could help it, so instead glanced around the crowded hallway. It wasn’t hard to see Butch cackling like an idiot with his stupid friends. They made eye contact and Brick was quick to give the wordless command.

“What do you mean for what? Hello! My party!”

“Oh. Whatever you want.”

Brick felt her grip tighten. Princess was simple, but at least that made things easy for him. Give a little, pull a little, and she’d stick around. It was completely moronic of her to accept his unenthusiastic love declaration. Wasn’t she trying to fix her company’s image? Dating him was probably smearing her with so much shit with the media. Probably even more so with her evil counterparts, thanks to Blossom. It was the worst possible move she could have made. 

He finally glanced over at her when his throbbing arm rushed with relief. Thank god. She let go. 

“Oh, there’s Veronica. I need to talk to her about her mother’s new business.”

He tried his damndest not to flinch when his girlfriend leaned over to peck his cheek. It didn’t quite work.

“See you at lunch.” 

She sounded as if she were trying to be seductive. Luckily she sauntered away before he lost his composure completely. 

“Trouble in paradise?” The ever-observant Butch said as he approached. 

Brick rubbed the bridge of his nose to fight back the biting headache. The incredibly loud class bell ringing didn’t help one bit.

“Shut the fuck up. Where’s Boomer?”

“Dunno,” Butch replied, shrugging. “With his piece somewhere I bet.”

Brick simply grunted at that and leaned back against his locker. Boomer had been bravely playing house with Bubbles right in front of him. He decided to let this love fest be settled after this McIntire situation was done with. Boomer needed to be cooperative for the time being and if playing house with a Puff would get him to comply it was fine for now. 

“Whatever.” Brick replied, watching the people pass in the hall. Scanning for any Powerpuff ears that may be close by. “I need you to give me a toy you don’t mind getting lost.”

Butch’s smile dropped a bit and he casually cast a glance over his shoulder, apparently also looking out for any super hearing teens.

“Sure, I got a laundry list a mile long. But what for?” 

His brother’s blasé charade wasn’t as convincing as he thought it was. Butch was a slutty guy but also a selfish one. All of his little flings were like trophies, and he hated losing a girl more than anything in the world. 

“Sedusa knows more than she’s letting on. I need a mole. One to shuffle around the brothel and let me know if they hear anything. Preferably not a halfwit, though if they fucked you I know that’s asking for too much.”

Butch smirked at that and only gave a cheeky nod in response. 

Happy with the compliance, Brick shifted fully to his feet again and began the trek to world history.

Hopefully, this was one task even his brother couldn’t mess up.

Bubbles couldn’t hold back a smile as she cut the train of pink hearts out of the construction paper. 

Valentine’s Day was only a few weeks away and Mr. Glines had volunteered his students to decorate the school this year. Most of the other kids seemed annoyed at the idea, but this lovey-dovey distraction was just what she needed to lift her spirits.

Satisfied with her work, she sat the stack of hearts down and reached for another pile of paper. Her hand froze when she found the box empty. Great. That means someone will have to go to the front of the class to get more. Which means...

She snuck a glance up towards Susie sitting right in front of the teacher’s desk, chatting with a girl she didn’t know too well. No matter how hard she tried the past week to talk to Susie it was simply no use. The girl went from ignoring her to actively hating her in such an absurdly short amount of time. She scowled a little. Surely Susie’s new best friend, Princess, had something to do with that. 

A bitter lump settled into her stomach where her previous holiday cheer had once resided. She fiddled with her scissors in an effort to seem busy. Hopefully, someone else would notice the empty box and make the trek past her ex-friend in her place. 

She scrunched up her eyebrows. Susie acting strangely was one thing, but the fight with Buttercup this morning sure hadn’t helped her nerves either. 

The Utonium household was tense. Blossom barraged her sister with questions for hours last night but she still wouldn’t budge. Why was Buttercup keeping it a big secret anyway? It’s not like being in love was a crime, and everyone knew by now, so why didn’t she just answer the questions? Even if she was shy about these types of things, keeping all of these secrets made her look more than a little suspicious. 

She sighed.

Bubbles knew it was stupid to still be angry at her sister. The professor hadn’t even forbidden her from seeing Boomer as she had originally feared. Not yet anyway. 

All in all, he was being pretty reasonable about it. Well, as reasonable as one man could be in that situation. Truth be told, she should thank Buttercup for ripping off the “we are old enough to have boyfriends” band-aid for her. 

Bubbles shook her head, her dangly earrings twirling a bit. 

Still! It was the principle of it all! Buttercup broke the sister code. She deserves at least a little sass for everything she had put her through!

“Um, Bubbles?”

“Huh?”

Her head snapped to Julie on her right. 

Julie half laughed and set down the paintbrush in her hand, giving her friend her full attention. 

“You were just having like, the craziest face journey. You okay?”

She felt her cheeks warm at the group all looking at her. Her eyes averted downward when she replied. 

“Yeah, it’s just. I’m out of paper.”

Mike piped up now, a little amused himself. 

“Well, why don’t you get some more?” 

“I would but...” 

The group followed Bubbles’ line of sight. Julie and Mike made a face when they realized the true reason for their friend’s paper troubles.

“You shoulda said something.” Boomer said sweetly and immediately stood up from his spot next to her. “I’ll get it.”

Her cheeks flushed when she looked up at her knight in shining armor.

Maybe it was all the talk of Valentines, or maybe it was her father’s orders not to further the relationship until they sat down for a chat. She wasn’t quite sure. All she knew was the long weekend away from her darling had really brought out something in her she hadn’t expected. 

It took every ounce of determination in her not to pounce the boy with kisses this morning. 

“Hey Boomer.”

Bubbles glared daggers as Susie approached her knight in front of the teacher’s desk like some sort of hungry bog witch. Susie’s friend not far behind, looking like her little gremlin familiar. Why were they gawking up at her boyfriend like that?

“You gonna hang out with us this weekend? Brick is coming too.” 

Boomer didn’t seem nervous at all when he shook his head in response. Bubbles wasn’t sure if that made her angrier than the alternative, but she was close to boiling nonetheless. 

“You sure? Princess said we’re going out to one of her clubs. I heard some celebrities might be there.”

Boomer simply shook his head again. “I, uh, got plans this weekend. Brick wouldn’t let me come anyway. Thanks though.” 

Susie looked as if she wanted to do a little more convincing, but Boomer was already walking away from her before she got the chance. Bubbles smiled a little as he sat back down next to her, the pile of paper in his hands big enough for a small army. 

After a few minutes to make absolutely sure none of her friends were watching, she leaned over to Boomer and whispered so softly she wasn’t sure even he could hear it.

“Meet me in the empty supply closet after school.”

To say Elmer had been having a horrible time this past week was an understatement.

English was always his worst subject, the only advanced class he couldn’t get into. That, of course, meant he shared the wonders of grammar with his rough and tumble friends. Which of course, meant he was the one involuntarily tasked with doing all of their book reports. 

All four thousand words to write, including his own. He was booked to max capacity, so to speak. That’s the only reason he had to turn her down. He had explained it over and over but the deranged boy looming over him in this empty hallway wouldn’t hear a word of it.

“You a masochist or somethin’?”

Elmer’s glasses threatened to fall off his face as his head shook violently. Why did he always seem to be an easy target for the Rowdyruff siblings?

“No Butch.” His voice quivered slightly, but he was determined to stand firm in his decision. “I already told Buttercup. I just don’t have the time. I’m sorry.”

Butch didn’t seem to like that answer. The closer he crept the more Elmer cowered until eventually, the coldness of the brick on the walls behind him hit his back. He flinched as an arm went up next to his head, blocking any retreat he could have made.

“You’re gonna be sorry if you don’t do the fucking thing.”

A small tingle of goosebumps crept up his neck as he looked up at the boy. Butch was the real deal. A real criminal. How on earth did Buttercup fight toe to toe with this guy and live?

“B-But!” He saw Butch flinch slightly as a bit of spittle hit him directly in the face. “I’m swamped! I’ve already done three reports. I can’t do another four!”

Butch rose a brow at him, and with a condescending tone replied to the shaking nerd.

“So don’t fucking do four. Just do ours.”

Butch seemed to be ready for the outpour of spittle this time. He angled his head slightly as Elmer’s rapid-fire protests came tumbling from his lips.

“But the guys already paid me! If I don’t do theirs they’ll beat me up and if I don’t do yours you’ll beat me up! What the heck am I supposed to do? If the teacher finds out I’ll be in so much shit-“

“Dude shut up!”

Elmer flinched again in horror as Butch flew his arm back, but instead of a punch, it seemed like he was reaching for something in his pocket. His anxieties melted away when the bully waved the largest stack of money he had ever seen right in front of his face.

“How’s that? Triple what those dicks paid combined I bet.”

Elmer could feel Butch’s arrogant grin but he couldn’t see it. His eyes were glued to the cash swaying back and forth in front of his face gently like a sheet swaying on a clothesline, caught in a soft breeze.

“This enough to change your mind?” 

Elmer flinched for spittle this time.

“Or you need some more initiative?!”

The alluring pile of cash reflected off of his glasses as he pondered his options. His own report was finished, as were Floyd and Loyd’s assignments. Mitch and Harry might ruffle him up a bit but whatever pain they might dish out would be nothing compared to Butch Jojo’s fury. 

A small bead of sweat fell from his forehead and his glasses fogged up ever slightly more. He was only a few grand away from buying it. His first car. The answer seemed all too clear with that realization. 

He let out a loud sigh, finally accepting the fact that he lost the battle but would win the war.

“Fine. I’ll do your reports.”

Butch’s wild grin grew wider and Elmer let out a wheeze when the money slammed hard into his chest.

“Good man Elmer!” The Ruff beamed as he grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around with no effort at all. 

Before Elmer knew it they were walking together down the empty hallway, Butch’s strong arm around him like they were a couple on a date. He kept his eyes forward as the boy’s abrasive voice roared next to him.

“Say listen bud. I got another favor to ask. Think you could help me out?”

He felt those green eyes on him but kept his head facing forward as he nodded. The sooner this strange intimidation tactic was over the better.

“That’s what I like to hear.”

He felt his entire body tense when Butch kicked open the school’s entrance doors with one hard slam of his boot.

“So… You ever worn a dress before?”

He was sure he hadn’t heard her right. Or maybe his excited hormonal brain conjured up some absurd fantasy. But after she nearly tackled him to the ground he realized this wasn’t a dream. 

Something had gotten into Bubbles. 

He didn’t know what but right now he sure wasn’t complaining. Even if he wanted to, his lips were simply too preoccupied.

The supply closet was stuffy and small. A rickety lightbulb flickered above their heads. Mops and brooms next to them lined up against the walls. Not exactly the most romantic setting, but his girlfriend didn’t seem to mind one bit. 

Bubbles was floating and had his face cupped in her sweet soft hands. Not unlike their first kiss.

Quite unlike their first kiss, however, she was more ferocious than he ever imagined she could be. Nibbling and tugging his bottom lip as if her life depended on it. Her bravery took him completely off guard at first, but he soon found himself melting like putty in her grasp. 

“Mmh.”

Normally he’d be embarrassed at moaning like this, but his sounds of pleasure only seemed to excite her more. She pulled her lips away and he let out another mewl when her teeth made contact with his neck. 

This was really bad. A code red to the highest degree. His hazy teenage brain was going absolutely haywire. His hand hovered around her waist, not daring to touch it. If she didn’t stop soon he might do something he would certainly regret. So instead, he spoke the first thing that came to mind. 

“Bubbles.” He paused briefly when she went in for another bite. “I met with Sedusa yesterday.”

He felt her go rigid in his arms. 

Oh shit.

Her pretty face was furiously twisted up when she tore away from him. She landed to her feet with a thump. Her scowling lips glistened with smeared coconut chapstick when she snapped her head up to look at him. 

“Boomer!”

His muscles winced at the rising pitch of her voice. His heart was pounding in terror. He’d never felt so small, despite being nearly a foot taller than the girl in front of him. 

“It was just a meeting!” He started, stammering. “I didn’t even want to do it!”

“Boomer!” She repeated, her hands shooting out to her sides. 

The once thrilling stuffy storage room air was now suffocating. The hum of the lightbulb above their heads rang in his ears like a choir of screeching banshees. 

Without thinking, as usual, he turned on his heel and reached for the doorknob. Dread filled him to the bone when he realized it wasn’t budging. 

“Huh?” He practically yelped, jiggling the thing as hard as he could without breaking it. He stopped when he heard a tiny defeated sigh echo behind him. 

“Boomer.”

He didn’t dare turn back around to face her. He tried not to flinch when her hand made contact with his back. 

“You don’t have to run away. What do you mean you met Sedusa yesterday?” 

Her voice was quieter. She was obviously still cautious but the worst of her anger had apparently subsided. He only felt more guilty now. Why was she always so lenient with him? His voice was quiet when he replied.

“I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?” She asked, finally managing to gently grab his arm and turn him around again. He didn’t dare look at her though and instead turned his head up towards the dusty ceiling. 

The two stood in this suffocating silence for a long time. His eyes closed shut when her comforting tiny hand reached for his own and gave it a small squeeze. How could one girl be so sweet? And she was all his. Well, at least for now. Mike’s advice crossed his mind. What did he really want? The answer was all too clear when he steadied himself and finally looked down at her. 

“Bubbles,” He started, his voice kind, if not a little unsure. “It's really bad.”

She nodded slowly at him. Her attentive eyes flickered across his face, waiting for him to continue. 

“I think we’re in trouble. Me and my brothers I mean.”

She took another step towards him, her hand still in his. He could tell she was worried, despite her calm composure. 

“What kind of trouble? Tell me.”

He paused a beat then continued, not taking his eyes off of her.

“There’s this bad guy back in Citiesville who moved in on our turf. Brick wants to take care of him. If we don’t then we won’t have anything left. No money or anywhere to go. Nothing. I don’t want to do it but I don’t have a choice.”

He was surprised to see her smile warmly up at him. She reached for his other hand. 

“Is that all? You should have said so sooner.”

Is that all? What does she mean by that? Maybe she didn’t understand. Why would she? She was an angel. Angels don’t murder people. 

“Bubbles,” He started slowly, for emphasis. “ _I have to take care of him._ “ 

He knew the face he was making was moronic but he couldn’t help it. The last thing he expected to hear from her right now was laughter. 

“No you don’t Boomer.” She managed to say between breaths. “You just need this man gone right? So I’ll just have to take care of him for you. That way you won’t get into any more trouble.”

“You’re gonna kill a guy?” He didn’t mean to sound so dubious but come on. 

She laughed some more at that and floated up, cupping his cheeks once again.

“Well, I killed _you_ didn’t I?”

His mind again became fuzzy when her warm lips met his. Did she know she had such a dangerous power? When she pulled away with a sultry look on her face he realized he still had a lot to learn about his girlfriend. 

He all but shivered when she grazed a finger behind his neck. Those supple lips of hers not inches from his ear.

“I’m not going to kill him, Boomer. I’m going to arrest him. Just tell me his name.”

Arrest him? Of course! Arrest him! Why didn’t he think of that?

“My girlfriend is an evil genius.” He said playfully. The sweet sound of her laughter filled his eardrums in response. “His name is John McIntire.” 

She yanked away from him then, her face etched with alarm. All these tonal shifts were starting to be too much for him. He winced at her volume.

“McIntire?!”

They both winced now. The cramped room filled with a new unwelcome sound. They shared a look of panic before turning to face a new threat. Someone was unlocking the door. 

Every muscle in his body went rigid when he looked at the fearsome villain looming in the doorframe. Someone who struck more fear of God in him than his own father ever could. 

Miss Keane.

“Bubbles. Boomer.”

The two jumped at her sweet tone of voice. Then again when she cast a glance at their disheveled clothes. Uh oh.

“So sorry to interrupt. But would you kindly see me in my office?”


	15. News

“Strange. This report looks awfully similar to one another student of mine turned in. Very strange. Any idea why that could be?”

Buttercup was all but trembling where she stood. When Elmer showed up at school this morning and practically shoved the paper in her hands she was so elated she could have kissed the guy. He wouldn’t even accept any payment. It seemed way too good to be true. 

Guess it was. 

“Well, it oughta look like mine. We wrote ‘em together.” 

She glared over at Butch beside her. He didn’t look the least bit intimidated leaning against Mr. Holmes’s desk in the stillness of the empty classroom. But why would he be intimidated? It didn’t really matter to him if they failed or not. 

“I see.” The teacher said, peering up at them from his seat. He held her paper in his left hand. With a small peep of X-ray vision, she could tell the paper in his right hand was Elmer’s. 

Crap. What the hell gave it away?

“Well then, since you both seem to know the book so well, why don’t you cite me a quote from it? Any will do.” 

This was it. Game over. Summer school was inevitable. After a pause that felt like it would never end, she nearly jumped out of her skin when Butch’s arrogant voice boomed next to her.

“The darker the night, the brighter the stars. The deeper the grief, the closer is God.”

Another very long pause. What the hell was he doing? 

Mr. Holmes sighed deeply, then looked up at her like judge, jury, and executioner all at once. She resisted the urge to avert her eyes from his. Just barely. 

“I see you came prepared.” He said, then sat both papers down onto his desk. His mean eyes pierced into Buttercup then dragged over to Butch, who only smiled at the man. 

“Look it up online before you got here?” 

“Wouldn’t dream of it teach.” Butch replied, his tone snide, and shot a finger up to the side of his head. “It’s all up here. Scouts honor.” 

“Very well.” Mr. Holmes said, exasperated, then rubbed his temple. He seemed as if he was tired of even looking at them. 

“I’ll let this one go since I can’t prove the contrary. But just know you’re on thin ice Miss Utonium. And I still haven’t received your letter of apology. I expect it on my desk by the end of the day.” He waved his hand dramatically. “Now go to lunch. Both of you.” 

Without even looking at Butch, Buttercup simply nodded at the teacher and practically ran out of the classroom before he could change his mind. After a few broad steps, she heard the loud clunk of Butch’s boots following her and slowed her pace. 

The two walked in complete silence down the busy hall until they rounded a corner. The second they were in the clear she hovered off of the floor and beamed down at him. 

She just couldn’t believe it! 

“What the hell?!” She half yelled, half chuckled. “Butch that was amazing! How’d you know the quote?”

He grinned up at her, his eyes twinkling in amusement from the praise. “Looked it up on the internet before I got here.” 

Buttercup cackled at the Mr. Holmes impression. After a few seconds of laughter and still floating along, she replied. Her voice was airy with mischief. 

“I knew it! There was no way you actually read it.”

Her gusto calmed when she looked down at him. He looked meek, eyes facing forward and hands shoved in his pockets. She raised a brow when he spoke up in a soft voice as if he were ashamed of something. 

“Actually, Brick loves that book. I did read some of it a long time ago. I didn’t realize till I saw the report Elmer gave me this morning.”

“You read it?”

She didn’t mean to sound so incredulous, but come on. 

“Yeah. Don’t worry, you didn’t miss much. It sucked ass. Wait-.”

He must have read her mind because he stopped walking mid-step and glared up at her. 

“Did you think I couldn’t read or something?!”

Her only reply to that was a blank stare.

“You did! Bitch!”

She went to make a remark but instead let out a yelp when he playfully tugged her wrist as hard as he could. She took it in good humor, laughing and rubbing her sore wrist with a smile. The thought of teasing him more crossed her mind, but she decided against it. Guys got flustered about the weirdest things. Especially meat heads like Butch.

Another giddy chuckle left her as they reached his locker and she finally landed on her feet again. It felt stupid to be giggling so much but there was nothing she could do about it. Her heart was feeling lighter than it had in months. They really pulled it off! She was absolutely on cloud nine. Maybe that’s why she was feeling so generous. She watched him open his locker and shuffle around in it a little bit longer. It would be fine. The worst he could do is tease her like usual. Or say no. 

“Here.” 

He cocked a brow to her when she reached into her pocket. It only raised more when she held up a chintzy cell phone in his direction. 

“Put your number in.”

The look on his face wasn’t quite what she expected. Was it really so shocking? They spent almost every single day together lately, of course it would be normal to exchange numbers right? She was starting to regret asking. Was it too weird? Maybe she had misunderstood their not friendship? 

A wry smirk crept to her face when he eventually did reach for it. He silently flipped it open with those crude fingers of his, tapping on the little keypad without looking up at her. 

“Don’t call me after nine. I need my beauty sleep.” He said teasingly, and after handing it back to her began rummaging again. 

The locker felt cold on her bare arm when she leaned up against it. She stared brazenly at Butch shuffling around in the locker next to her. Though he wouldn’t look back at her, she couldn’t help but notice the smile on his face. Maybe he was thrilled about passing Mr. Holmes’s class too. Or, just maybe, he also enjoyed tittering on the prospect of their budding friendship. Cheating the system was a good bonding experience. They really lucked out this time. She was sure absolutely nothing could ruin her mood today.

“That reminds me.”

He finally turned to face her. His once wistful smile now dripping with arrogance.

“Here.” 

Her eyes flicked down at the small black lump of, something, he was holding out to her. 

“The fuck is this?” 

“Your old phone.” He replied matter of factly. 

She gawked stupidly at it for a long time. Her hand reached out and hovered over it as if it would burn her skin if she made contact. After he gave it a little shake, she took it from him as gently as she could. The fury in her voice didn’t quite match the tenderness of her touch.

“Butch! What the hell did you do?!”

He smiled at that and pulled a snack from his locker. After some time of chewing, probably to piss her off more, he finally replied with a mouth full of chips.

“Found it for you. You’re welcome.”

This guy was pure evil. Did he have it the entire time?! He must have waited a full week to tell her about it! And look what he did to it! 

Rage boiled in her belly but she kept it in check.

She couldn’t press him about it any further and he knew it. He had just saved her from two months of Mr. Holmes after all. Still, her voice dripped with hostility. She was so angry she couldn’t even get the words out.

“You’re such a fucking-. You’re a-.”

Butch smirked devilishly at her frustration and slammed his locker shut.

“Handsome devil?”

“Cock head!”

She crunched the black mass of plastic in her hand and dramatically tossed it behind her shoulder. Blind fury threatened to overtake her when he cackled and turned on his heel to walk down the hallway. She made sure to stomp extra hard when she scurried to catch up with him.

“Did you ‘find’ my hoodie too?” She snapped, finally catching up completely.

He slowed down, now walking at a snail’s pace. Buttercup slowed down too with a frown. She suspected that was for further antagonization.

He glanced over at her, turning the small bag of chips upside down to shovel the last bit of crumbs in his mouth before replying. 

“Do you mean my hoodie?”

“Huh?” Was all she could say to that.

For some reason, he scowled. The chip bag in his hand crinkled loudly when he crushed it and tossed it over his shoulder. The action mirroring her dramatic toss not seconds ago. 

“You don’t even remember, do you?”

“Remember what?”

“Nevermind.” He huffed, a bit too quickly, and wiped his greasy fingers on his jeans. 

She stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate, but he never did. 

Her eyebrows furrowed. What was he talking about? She tried to remember when she got the hoodie. That tattered old thing had graced her body every day for a long time now. It survived countless battles and hugged her tightly when she felt the most alone. It was without a doubt her favorite article of clothing. Just when did she get it?

All at once, it came back to her.

Oh right. 

A blazing wave of heat flooded up her body, starting from her stomach and settling at her ears. 

She had been parading around with Butch Jojo’s hoodie on her shoulders for all the world to see. 

Just how did that look? Why didn’t he ever say anything? Or any of her friends for that matter? Suddenly all those snide glares from that Susie girl were starting to make sense. And who knew what any of her other peers were thinking? Buttercup didn’t know it was possible to feel so humiliated. 

The worst part was he must have gotten some sort of sick pleasure out of it. A scowl etched her troubled face when he reached over and gave her a hard flick to the side of her head.

“Anyway you can’t have it back.” He said with an air of annoyance in his voice. “Thanks to you it was ruined to shit so I threw it out.”

He threw it out.

Whatever was left of her cheerful attitude vanished like a puff of smoke. 

“Whatever.” She sputtered, visibly red, and led the way further down the hall and towards the cafeteria entrance. Her brain racked desperately for any subject but this one. “You ready for the fight tonight?”

“Can’t tonight.” Was the last thing she heard before he sped up and jogged ahead of her and around the corner. He moved as if the thought of them being seen together in a crowded place was shameful somehow. Talk about salt in the wound.

She stood still as a statue in the cafeteria’s entrance completely dumbfounded. Teens were walking around her, at a safe distance, careful not to get in her warpath. 

Her anger grew while she watched him jog away from her. More and more with each step he took. Why would he not want to fight with her? This had to be payback for last Saturday. What a jerk. The phone, the hoodie, and now this? 

What the fuck was his problem?!

Her body lunged to storm right up to him and give him the business, but a lone Elmer sitting at a table nearby caught her eye. The previous irate feeling in her chest soothed when she saw him there all by himself, poking at his food. It was Butch’s idea to pay off someone to help her pass the class, but Elmer was the one who actually did all the work. Sweet, beautiful Elmer.

Her feet swiveled mid-step and started stomping towards him instead. There had to be a way to repay Elmer for his kindness. Something.

The boy didn’t move when she waved to him. Maybe he didn’t see her? She tried again, loudly calling out to him this time.

“Elmer!”

He still didn’t move a muscle. 

He must have been enjoying his meatloaf because his eyes stayed glued to it when she reached the table. 

“Elmer.”

He still didn’t respond. She decided she didn’t care and plopped down in the empty seat across from him. 

“I just wanted to say thanks again. I owe you big time-.” She started but paused when she finally noticed him shivering. “Are you okay?”

Elmer looked up at her, sweat beading from his brow, his cheeks bright pink. His eyes then averted and swirled around the mess hall. He visibly paled when they landed on someone. Buttercup turned her head to follow his line of sight. 

Butch.

“Buttercup,” Elmer said, his nasally voice barely above a whisper. “I have to tell you something.”

Bubbles stared down at her full plate of food. Lunch was nearly over but she was anything but hungry. Julie and Mike sat across from her, gossiping about some celebrity or another. She sighed and poked at her salad. Thankfully her two friends went against the grain.

Two fifteen-year-olds caught making out in a storage closet was apparently a hot topic, since everyone in the school seemed to know about it. This past week it was as if she was the talk of the town. Constant glances here and snickers there. All of it was absolutely humiliating. Not quite as humiliating as the talk she had with the professor afterward though. Blossom hounding her with tutting and reprimands was just the icing on top. As of now the dinner with Boomer was canceled. And as far as her family was concerned, their relationship was canceled too. Luckily she didn’t get detention, but she didn't get off totally scott free.

It was bad enough that she was grounded, but now she couldn’t even see Boomer at school. Her boyfriend would face all sorts of evil-doers to save her, but apparently crossing Buttercup Utonium was where he met his match. The only time the two of them could speak was in art class. 

Not that they did much talking anyway.

She glanced longingly at Boomer who was seated across the cafeteria with his brother. To say things were awkward between them was the understatement of the century. This was all her fault too. He was the perfect gentleman. She was the one who pounced on him with haywire hormones! No one in her family would hear of it though. The professor even covered his ears like a child when she tried to explain everything. Needless to say, she hadn’t gotten the opportunity to bring up the McIntire situation with any of them yet. 

What on earth would she even say? ‘My criminal boyfriend you’re all angry at needs us to arrest this guy. Don’t ask why.’ didn’t quite come up at dinner time. 

Her stomach turned in knots but she wasn’t sure why. As a dark shadow cast over her, she was about to find out. 

“Hello Bubbles.”

Her head snapped up only to see her old friend Susie looming down at her. Princess was standing behind her, looking like she wanted some trouble. 

The table fell eerily silent. That was until Mike snapped a reply, his voice acidic.

“What do you want Susie?” 

“Not you.” Susie retorted with a sarcastic smile. It only grew when Princess snickered behind her.

Susie then pressed her full weight on the table, her elbows down and her butt sticking out, in order to look at her. She probably thought she looked intimidating. As if.

“I didn’t know you had it in you Bubbles.” She said, her tone sickly sweet.

There was a long drawn-out silence. Bubbles knew better than to engage in a petty fight, but something about that smug face grinning at her made her forget herself. Against her better judgment, she replied.

“Had what in me?”

“Boomer.”

Bubbles felt her fists clench when the two wicked girls laughed at her expense. Why was Susie being so mean? They had been close for years. Really close. At least she thought so. Just what happened? It was almost as if her friend had become a different person overnight. 

She felt her entire body go rigid when they finally stopped laughing. Adrenaline rushed all the way to her toes when the girl leaned down even closer, their faces not inches from each other. Susie’s voice the textbook definition of arrogance.

“And I thought your sister was the whore.”

The entire table jolted when Bubbles abruptly stood to her feet. Her shoulders bowed and fists clenched. Hot tears of rage threatened to escape her but she managed to hold it together. She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. No, the only thing Susie would get from her was a well earned ass-whooping! 

“You finished?”

It was the bully’s turn to go rigid. The girls twirled around to greet their new companion. Bubbles could only gawk on in confusion. He was the last person she had expected to come to her rescue. 

“Brick!”

Princess practically pounced on the boy and laced her arm in his before he even got a chance to blink. Susie’s disposition seemed to change too. She was smiling sweetly when she approached him.

“We were just talking to-.” 

“Talking’s over.” He interjected, annoyed. “Let’s go.”

There was a brief pause and the two girls stiffened. Maybe they were afraid of him. Were they in trouble? Bubbles felt awestruck when he glanced in her direction. A comfortable feeling of familiarity washed over her. Then, the sudden realization hit her. Brick really did look an awful lot like Blossom. 

He, finally, broke eye contact with her and turned to walk away. Princess seemed to already forget the confrontation when she nuzzled up against him and dutifully followed. Susie cast Bubbles one more glare, then turned and skittered closely behind her friends like some sort of little pet. 

Adrenaline still rushed through her body, and she stood completely still. 

Okay. Just What the heck was that? When her eyes met with his, only for a brief moment, she could have sworn she saw something in them. Something she never expected. Concern for her wellbeing. 

Who knew Brick Jojo was capable of chivalry? Maybe being the oldest brother all these years had something to do with it. Either way, Bubbles was thankful for the intervention. As it stood she would have pounded her old friend into nothing but dust. 

She sat back down. Her friends were all giving her comforting words but she didn’t hear them. She was far too busy watching the boy with fiery hair disappear from the cafeteria and out of sight.

For the first time all week, Bubbles smiled. 

How could one room be so cozy? 

It couldn’t have been bigger than a glorified walk-in closet, but it was more comfortable than claustrophobic. The small sconce light behind her head cast a soft yellow glow which only accentuated the floral pattern on the wallpaper. A space heater in the corner let out a hum that would have lulled her to sleep in any other circumstance. The brown chair below her was plush and soft, and her nose filled with the aroma of the freshly brewed coffee sitting on the counter across the room.

Despite it all, she was anything but relaxed.

“Let’s try this again. If S is the set of all points in the plane whose distance to the origin is twice the distance to the point (4,4) then S is a what?”

Blossom chewed her lip in frustration. 

Typically a problem this simple would be a breeze for her. But who could blame her for a lack of concentration? Her present company was being highly atypical today. 

“Come on Blossom. You’re just overthinking it.”

She glared daggers across the small wooden table at the boy addressing her. 

It seemed her master plan to annoy Brick had completely backfired. When she and Clara showed up to his job unannounced with textbooks in tow she had expected him to boil with rage. Much to her surprise, he did the exact opposite. Even Clara looked taken aback when he welcomed them with open arms. He even asked his boss if they could practice in the backroom! Miss Martha was more than happy to comply, given that he only came back here when the shop wasn’t busy. Brick seemed thrilled.

A little too thrilled.

She scrunched up her nose when he leaned closer toward her.

“You want a hint?” 

“No, I don’t want a hint!” She hissed back. “I want to know why you’re acting like this.” 

The worn chair squeaked a bit when he leaned back to settle in it. The look on his face was clearly amused. Not in its usual snide way. There was an air of good humor about him today. It made her stomach flip and swirl with anxiety. Why was he being so wishy-washy? He made it pretty clear he wanted nothing to do with her when he cursed her out in that hallway. So which was it? Did he want to be friendly or not? 

Blossom inwardly sighed. If only Clara hadn’t stepped out a few minutes ago for a phone call. Things were going pretty smoothly until now.

“I'm just being civil.” Brick said while reaching to take that red hat off of his head. She watched him run a hand through his hair with a disgusted look on her face.

“Civil isn’t in your repertoire.” She snapped back, leaning across the table towards him this time. “Do you think I’m an idiot?” 

“Well, you couldn’t figure out S is a circle.”

“Oh cut the crap Brick!” She all but yelled and stood to her feet. “You’re plotting something again! Don’t think I forgot about seeing you in Citiesville!” 

That kind smile melted from his face then. Ah. So she was right. That's what all this was really about. 

“What’s it to you if I go to Citiesville?” He said, throwing one arm over the back of his chair. 

She squinted. He was digging for answers now. Did he really think it would be that easy? What a fool. His eyes followed her when she calmly sat back down again. If he thought she would blurt out information in a blind fury he was sorely mistaken.

“I can see why you liked that place.” She said trying her best to sound aloof. Brick smirked when she leaned forward and rested her chin upon her hands.

“Yeah?” He leaned too now, mimicking her movements. His free long orange hair cascaded over his arms when he did so.

“Yeah. It’s a disgusting city filled with criminals who will never amount to anything. No wonder you made it your home. I’m sure you fit right in.” 

“Ouch.”

He crossed his arms and leaned back against his chair once more. His eyes cast downward towards the textbook in front of him. If she didn’t know any better, she would think he was hurt by her comment. But that couldn’t be. Could it?

“Blossom. You’re too suspicious.” 

His defeated tone of voice answered her question. Guilt gnawed at her. He didn’t really deserve the tongue lashing, did he? He was just being polite. Maybe she went a little too far. She sighed deeply. Even if this was all an act, someone had to be the bigger person.

“Maybe that was a little uncalled for, I’m s-.”

The apology was on the tip of her tongue but she never got the chance to speak it. She felt herself freeze in place when he turned his sights back on her and slowly leaned across the table, practically laying on top of it. Wild copper hair slid across the wood carelessly, framing his face. Said face so close she could feel the heat radiating off of him. Even though his voice was quiet, it still rumbled in her ears when he spoke. 

“Blossom-.” 

Her breath hitched in her throat. She couldn’t move even if she wanted to. Those serious, deep red eyes had her so entranced she lost herself in them. They stared at each other for a few long seconds, neither willing to blink first. 

That was until the corners of those serious eyes wrinkled up in delight. 

“You’re also too predictable.” 

Her cheeks flushed hotly from equal parts rage and embarrassment when she stared at the boy grinning in front of her. If there wasn’t any danger of destroying public property, she would slap it clean off of his face. 

“And you’re a jerk.” 

“I knew you’d say that.” He whispered and cast her a wink. 

“Working hard?” 

They both twirled their heads to see a bemused Clara reemerging from the back entrance. Blossom’s heart raced even more. Who knew just what their awkward position looked like from across the room.

“Hardly workin’.” Brick joked, eliciting a chuckle from Clara.

Clara watched him dramatically stand and walk towards the coffee maker with a knowing look on her face. Just what she knew Blossom couldn’t say. 

“You guys will have to do better than that,” Clara said, making her way to her assigned seat and plopping down in it. “The semi-finals are in two weeks! I wanna see the look on Oakfield High’s faces when we get our revenge this year.”

“Don’t count on it.” He teased back, rummaging with something on the counter. “Blossom doesn’t even know what a circle is.” 

Blossom glared daggers into the back of his head, in a desperate hope that she somehow spontaneously developed telekinesis. Unfortunately, his head stayed firmly in place as he turned and made his way back to the table. She and Clara both rose a brow at the two fresh cups of coffee he sat in front of them. 

Clara took hers quickly. Brick looked as if he wanted to say something but the girl cut him off with a raised index finger. She swung her mug up for a big gulp, then began telling Brick the story of the legendary Oakfield High defeat of 07. Blossom tuned out then. She had heard the story many times. 

Instead, she flicked her eyes to Brick and watched him carefully. He was turned in his seat so Clara had his full attention. Every time her best friend laughed he would imitate her. Like her own personal laugh track. It was unnerving, to say the least. 

She averted her eyes toward the mug in front of her and took it in her hands reluctantly. The warmth of it crept from her fingers all the way up her arms. It was a welcome feeling. Despite the heater in the room, she was still a bit chilly. 

“So.” She heard Brick say when the conversation had finally died down. “Why isn’t Elmer here?”

“Oh my god!”

Clara shot up in her seat so abruptly Blossom nearly spilled the scalding coffee all over her blouse. She went to reprimand her friend but paused when she saw those brown eyes twinkling in her direction.

“Blossom! Have you heard about your sister?”

She felt her once warm hands go clammy. Everyone in school had heard about Bubbles and the supply closet. Just remembering it made her queasy. Poor Bubbles was humiliated in the worst possible way. What else had that girl gotten herself into? Blossom wasn’t sure she could take another blow like that. She flicked her eyes towards the table then answered. 

“If it’s about Bubbles I don’t want to know.” 

The room went quiet. Save for the sound of Brick shifting awkwardly in his seat. 

“Huh?” Clara piped up. She shook her head, her braids twirling slightly from the momentum. “No not that. It’s about Buttercup!” 

That got her attention. Blossom raised her head up to face her friend. She couldn’t help but notice Clara had Brick’s full attention too. Who knew he liked gossip?

“You're gonna get a real kick out of this,” Clara said, trying to retain her laughter. “I heard it from Julie on the phone earlier. She heard from a reliable source that Robin said that Mitch told her-“

“Clara.” 

Blossom cast her friend a look that said “Spit it out.” She got the hint. 

“I was getting to it!” Clara shot back. 

The enthusiasm in her voice was contagious. Both super teens found themselves grinning when Clara threw her arms up in excitement and finally got the news out. 

“Buttercup and Elmer are going out!” 

This might be the strangest family dinner the Utonium household has ever had. 

No one had spoken a single word since sitting down. Only the sound of forks scraping plates echoed in the kitchen for some time now.

The professor chewed his food and watched his girls carefully. When his daughters returned home from school earlier that day there was quite a commotion upstairs. Thankfully not a fight, but certainly a lot of squealing, stomping, and laughter. Of course, none of the teens thought to share the news with him so he was doing his best to piece it all together now. 

His eyes went to Bubbles, seated on his right. For a grounded girl she sure was in an exuberant mood. Her pigtails bobbing when she swayed back and forth in her seat. She was excited.

His blood still boiled when he thought of that young man sitting beside his daughter in the principal's office. Of course, he knew this all was an inevitable part of adolescence. But did it really have to happen so soon? His girls should still be playing with dolls not doing, things, with boys. Especially not boys with criminal records!

He munched on his broccoli vehemently. Best not to think about that for now. 

He then cast a sneaky glance towards Blossom on his left. She was mostly just chewing her food politely, but every few minutes she would look over at Buttercup. For whatever reason, this would elicit loud stifled snorts from Bubbles. That could only mean his middle child was the center of this new development. 

Finally, and with great caution, he peeked up at Buttercup sitting across from him. That scowl of hers was stronger than ever, but it was now accompanied by a twinge of pink on her face. She was embarrassed about something. 

He inwardly sighed. He could tell you how to split an atom in his sleep but he could never know just what a teenage girl was thinking. He sighed, aloud this time, and sat his fork down. 

“So,” All girls raised their heads up at him when he spoke. They looked As if they had forgotten he was even there. “Did anything interesting happen at school today?”

The already quiet room grew even quieter. It didn’t last long though. 

“N-Nothing professor.” 

Bubbles was almost blue in the face trying to control herself. Blossom looked like she might lose her cool as well. Just when he was about to press further the house phone rang. Before he even had a chance to stand Buttercup was already on her feet and barreling towards the hallway to answer it. 

He heard a faint “Hello?”, and after a brief pause, she reemerged into the kitchen. 

“It’s for you professor.” 

“Oh?” He said, wiping his mouth with a napkin before standing. “Do you know who it is?”

“Someone at X-Corp.” Was all she mumbled in reply. 

As soon as he turned the corner he heard the distinctive sound of a fist hitting flesh, then a loud “OW!” from Bubbles. 

He decided that would have to wait for now and made his way to the old refurbished hotline phone he knew so well. The little red receiver felt comically small in his hands. 

“Professor Utonium speaking.” 

“Ah, Professor!”

He couldn’t help but smile at the voice on the other end of the line. Peter was one of his more amicable work colleagues and he always enjoyed the man’s company. He went to speak but Peter cut him off before he got the chance.

“Utonium, have I got news for you! Hold onto your britches. The hydra project got the grant!” 

What? The professor felt his knees all but buckle underneath him. He just couldn’t believe it. The Hydra Project was an expensive one. Nearly four hundred thousand dollars to be exact. Just what on earth changed their minds? He was practically yelling in elation when he replied.

“The National Science Foundation approved my proposal?”

“No. They still stand by the fact that electromagnetic morphogenic induction is asinine. Halfwits.”

“Then who-“

“It was from a nonprofit who would like to remain anonymous,” Peter said, cutting the man off in his excitement yet again. “Congratulations professor. I guess someone really wants to see the field of electromagnetic macrophage proliferation succeed.”

He still couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It was a miracle! Rapid cell regeneration was a controversial endeavor. A non-profit donation was the last thing he expected. He sat in dumbfounded silence for a few long seconds, until his colleague’s voice rang in his ears again.

“I have to go. We all miss you at the lab, so hurry up and hobble your butt back here. Director’s orders. See you on Monday!”

He held the now silent receiver up to his ear for a few more seconds, then slowly hung it up with a soft clink. He didn’t even feel the ache in his broken leg when he made a beeline straight for the kitchen. 

“Girls! Girls! Girls!”

When he did a jig in place at the entrance his daughters looked up at him like he had finally fallen off his rocker. He was far too thrilled to care though.

“Girls thank the stars! I’m going back to work!”


End file.
